Smythes, smirks and secrets
by Strangerstories
Summary: Marie-Claire does what she wants, joins the New Directions and ignores the system. But she isn't an easy girl for the Glee club with her attitude and troubles. It also doesn't help that her brother is arch-enemy number one. - Slightly AU, but as close to Glee's storyline as possible. Follows season 4, so spoilers.
1. The New Rachel

My try for making a fanfiction for Glee. The idea of a new member to the Glee club and her being family of an already existing character is perhaps not original, but I had this idea in mind, so I went for it. I'll try and make it interesting. This story will be following season 4 and every chapter will be an episode. I'm of course not sure of what is going to happen in the next episodes, so it can happen that there are some little mistakes in the storyline. Well... Enough said - enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

**Song(s) used: **'Hurricane' - 30 seconds to Mars

* * *

**The New Rachel**

_"High school is a caste system. Kids fall into certain slots. Your jocks and your popular kids up in the penthouse. The invisibles and the kids playing live-action out in the forest, bottom floor."_  
_"And… where do the Glee kids lie?"_  
_"Subbasement."_

* * *

He wasn't wearing a bow tie.

She frowned, once again letting her glance fall over his body, but he was indeed not wearing his trademark. A small smirk appeared on her face while she turned away from the black haired boy in the hall and walked towards her first class. Blaine wasn't much like the other boys there had been. Though she could see he was quite handsome, she had definitely seen better candidates. But if he changed his hair, she might move him to a higher place on the list. She was quite sure he had curls - what would look good on him.

Marie-Claire had to admit she had been looking out for the ex-Warbler. He would have caught her attention anyway - being interviewed by already the most annoying guy she had ever met - but her brother had talked about him so often, she just had to find out who this crush was. She walked slowly through the halls, making her way over to science class. Passing by the board where lists of clubs hung, she saw a mass of people trying to sign up for _something_. She wanted to know what the something was. A glance at the clock learned her that she had time to wait. The fifteen year old girl wasn't going to join the crazy crowd - considering herself smart, she had the patience to let the rush pass and then walked to look at the paper.

New Directions.

She raised her eyebrow. In the caste system of William McKinley High School, Glee was ... well, before not even included. It looked like this had changed though. She had seen Nationals - of course. Her fucked up brother had one passion that didn't involve drinking, gay bars or sex and that was singing. It was also the only passion they shared. Marie-Claire was perhaps not the most outstanding singer, but she'd the emotion - if she set it free - and could play quite some instruments. She had a feeling for music. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to share it with the world as _he _did. Even now winning Nationals had upgraded the New Directions, the risk was high. The price was high. It wouldn't be that simple. She knew that it would only take a small breeze of wind and the Glee members would be falling down the cruel pyramid.

As a freshman, she didn't want too much trouble, yet she was confident - stupid - enough to not follow the system blindly. She'd decided not to audition for the cheerleader squad, though she was athletic. She also ignored the flirting of the brainless jocks, but had declined to sign up for any nerd clubs. She officially belonged to nothing, which meant she was invisible. The position might be satisfying and even quite safe, but she knew she wouldn't be able to keep it that way for long. Marie-Claire wasn't a shy, laid-back girl. She could be a bitch and had the power to hurt someone both mentally and psychically with ease. She wasn't a person to feel scared, let alone ashamed. She also didn't feel alone. She had one person in her life who could back her up, and one was enough.

"Are you going to sign up?"

The kind voice had appeared out of nowhere. She was startled, but didn't show it, turning around slowly while noticing the halls were almost empty. She realized she had been stopping for longer than she had intended to, lost in her thoughts. In front of her stood the guy she had been staring at. Blaine. Right now, there were no other people surrounding him. No Tina, no Artie, no Brittany. She wondered why she remembered all those names. It didn't matter. Marie-Claire stared at Blaine, her green eyes showing nothing.

"I'm Blaine. Blaine Anderson," he said, not taken back by her glance. "I'm a member of the New Directions." He offered his hand.

She waited a second before taking it, shaking it shortly but firm. "Marie-Claire," she said, pronouncing the name with a slight French touch. In America, everyone but her brother voiced her name horribly. Her father didn't talk to her, and when he did, he didn't call her by name.

"Nice to meet you." Blaine smiled widely, nodding at the paper. "So... _Are_ you going to sign up?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not. I was just thinking." Decision made. She hadn't even showed hesitation. The girl didn't like to show any doubt - she was always calm and collected, always in control. She eyed the reaction of Blaine.

He was disappointed and quite confused, too. "Oh, too bad. Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't feel like it." A typical Marie-Claire answer. She didn't like lying, she didn't like turning around the subject. She was clear and harsh if it was needed. Blaine raised his eyebrows, his hazel colored eyes showing confusion again, but also ... recognition? It bothered her. She didn't want to be 'just a sister'. She wanted to be herself, even though she resembled her brother.

"Have we met before?" Blaine asked, though. "You seem familiar." He spoke kindly, she noticed. He was so unlike all the other guys her brother had been into. What was it that made this dark haired boy so special? He wore bow ties and liked Katy Perry - it was definitely not his taste. Not his looks, too. Even though her older sibling said he was hot, he usually fell for other types. Marie-Claire couldn't see why it should be different this time.

"We haven't," she spoke, pulling her short, brown hair behind her ears. "I know you, though. Still not sure if you're living up to the tales. 'Sex on a stick and sings like a dream', huh?" Now there was definitely recognition in his eyes. He was still confused, though she had quoted her brother perfectly. She realized she listened too well to his messed up stories.

"You're..."

She looked at the clock. Time to go. With a wink at Blaine, she passed him, whispering in his ear.

"Sebastian says hi."

* * *

Perhaps Sebastian Smythe didn't seem like the ideal brother, but he actually was doing a quite good job at it.

He and Marie-Claire hadn't been really close - just as close as siblings were when they were a boy and a girl, three years apart. But when their mother died, the twelve year old Sebastian made it his job to take care of his nine year old sister. They grew closer, taking care of each other, both immediately after their mothers death supposing that their father would lose it. Howard Smythe had never been the most reliable person and liked to out his feelings in physical things. Sebastian and Marie-Claire avoided him as much as possible, but two months after the funeral, they moved.

Their father took them to France, Paris, were they lived for a few years. Howard remained quite calm and even told his children that he had found a good job. He was away the whole day, only came back to eat dinner and then left again. The siblings first were relieved their father could handle the situation, but eventually, Sebastian realized his father didn't work. He was in a bar almost 24/7. The angered boy had an huge fight with the man at the age of fourteen. After that, everything changed.

Their father still went to the bar, but didn't hide it anymore. He came home drunk, smelling like smoke and eventually even drugs. Sebastian came out of the closet and began flirting with every guy he saw. The boy started to drink, too, though he still was a strong rock for his sister to lean against. He never came home drunk. Sometimes, he was a bit tipsy, but Marie-Claire's brother had made a promise to take care of her until she could do it herself and he kept the promise.

But the long awaited and feared financial problems became too much. The young Sebastian couldn't work enough, Marie-Claire wasn't allowed to. Their father did nothing. They lost almost everything - even the furniture that had so many memories of their mother. The broken family moved back to America, where they lived with their fathers mother. Sebastian and Marie-Claire turned into themselves. They created new personalities, hid their past. They pretended to be someone they weren't and eventually couldn't see the difference, only if they were together.

But fate was harsh.

Their grandmother died and their father broke. He had finally found work and managed to keep his job, but at home, he became a nightmare. Sebastian had had the opportunity to get into Dalton at that time. Marie-Claire had convinced him to go. The boy was intelligent enough and she told him she could take care of herself. He had kept his promise. Her older brother indeed went to the private school - winning a scholarship, his father at first didn't have to bother to spare money. And their father seemed to be good at his job. Mr Smythe became quite well-known and rich. But he had been broken too many times. After his son left the house, he and his daughter only had each other.

Marie-Claire feared him. She knew they couldn't lean on each other and finally, the thing she had been scared of most happened. Her father, stressed by work and overall his life, started beating her. First he just grabbed her harshly, pushed her against something, shoved her around. But it became as an addition. He kicked her, punched her. She knew it could have been worse. He didn't do it every day. He even sometimes tried to hold back. She had become his punching bag, though, and it wasn't going to change. The atmosphere at home was horrible, every single day. She didn't know what to expect. What to fear. So eventually, the fear went away. She just took it.

And at school, she was the confident girl, the slightly aggressive, powerful, self-assured freshman some feared, others hated, but most simply ignored.

* * *

Tina was a bitch.

Marie-Claire decided this on her first day. The Asian girl had gotten some dull other freshmen to do everything for her, had sung with the most arrogant face ever a summer hit and now was being right out horrible to some sweet sophomore girl. The Smythe turned around slightly, taking in one of the original Glee club members. Marie-Claire was a bitch herself. She knew other bitches. Most cheerleaders were bitches - but they were trained to be. Tina wasn't. She had no reason whats however - she only thought she was good. That was how Marie-Claire saw it. And she hated that kind of persons. She liked to consider herself higher than those people.

The freshmen slave was already too much. Singing 'Call me maybe' as a competition song sucked - but Marie-Claire thought the song sucked anyway, it was too cheerful - and she hadn't liked the performance of the four New Directioners. Even Blaine hadn't been able to 'sing like a dream'. The Smythe had rolled her eyes, texted Sebastian and then moved out of the auditorium, leaving the five teenagers alone. She had heard the music accidentally and had went in, but that decision had only strengthened her other decision to not join the Glee club. It didn't look like much, now many other members had left.

Marie-Claire looked at the sophomore girl. She sat down at her table, smiling at the Smythe.

"Hi, I'm Marley," she introduced herself softly.

Marie-Claire looked at her with some interest. She didn't seem taken back by Tina's words at all. Or perhaps she had just missed the underlying meaning. "I'm Marie-Claire," she told the girl.

"Beautiful name, Marie-Claire. Not very common," Marley said. It was perhaps just meant to be polite, but Marie-Claire couldn't help herself. She smiled - quite wide, since the compliment had not only been nice, but Marley had also pronounced her name in the good way. Not the harsh American way. But the Smythe now turned towards her food, not bothering to thank the sophomore. She didn't do thanking.

Behind her, she could her the New Directioners talking. It seemed like they were quite bitchy. All of them. The freshmen smirked. The teenagers started insulting a fat lunch lady. Marie-Claire glanced quickly at her. She _was_ fat, indeed. But when Artie said something too, the brown haired girl couldn't feel but a bit disappointed. Those singers were apparently easily corrupted by fame. She shook her head, then saw Marley staring, too. She turned towards the Glee club members herself. Not all of them looking comfortable. Actually, only Brittany and Sugar. Sam, Joe and Blaine eyed Artie uncertainly, Tina looked at her plate. They didn't speak about the lunch lady again. The two jocks insulted some more people, Kitty just laughed, Brittany agreed sometimes, but the other New Directioners remained quiet.

As did Marley. She looked disappointed.

Marie-Claire shared her feelings, though she didn't show it. And somehow, she wasn't surprised that when the bell rang, Marley disappeared. The girl looked around her and saw the sophomore sneaking into the kitchen. Of course. She smirked, then stood, grabbed her back and walked slowly to the doors, wandering through them to the wall at the opposite side, leaning against it. Waiting.

She came out, looking relieved, smiling a bit, but with an uncertain look.

"Happy family moment?" Marie-Claire asked.

Marley looked startled. "I ... uhm ... that ..." She breathed in. "That was my mother. Problem with it?"

Perhaps this shy, sweet girl had more to show than Marie-Claire intentionally had thought. "Nope. But they will." She gestured at everything surrounding her. She meant everything. The green eyed girl was sure that the sophomore would have problems with it. And the girl seemed to realize this, too. The Smythe supposed she already had had trouble with it.

"Yes, I know," Marley nodded. "Are you ... going to tell?"

"No. But they're going to give you crap. Good luck with the audition." She turned around, suddenly not knowing why she had been waiting.

"Oh, wait! Hey, thank you. Are you going to audition too?"

"No. I'll see you around!" She only stuck her hand in the air, then walked away from the girl.

* * *

She looked particularly nice in the color red. Especially with the wide smile on her face.

Marie-Claire glanced at Marley when she got her books out of her locker. The list of New Direction members hadn't changed much. Only Marley Rose had been added. Now, the boy named Jake walked to the board. The brown haired girl wasn't sure she wanted to see his reaction, yet studied him from the corners of her eyes. She wasn't a Smythe for nothing. Even in the few days of school there had been, she had gathered quite some blackmail material, though not intentionally. Also, she had realized the classes where easy, the teachers were horrible and the people were typical short minded pricks.

McKinley High was nothing, absolutely nothing compared to Dalton. She wished she could go to the all-boys school, but the name already revealed the problem - all-boys. And her father told her explicitly she could choose her own school, as long as it wasn't private. A public school. Since every public school in Ohio sucked, she had chosen a school she at least knew. And - she had thought - if two ex-Warblers had went there, it couldn't be too bad. Okay, so she wasn't bullied. Yet. But she was quite sure she was going to have detention soon for punching someone.

Jake handled himself quite well. He didn't break anything. Marie-Claire had noticed something, though. The long look Marley had cast the tanned boy, she couldn't have missed.

Oh damn.

Trouble.

Not her trouble, though. She saw some sappy destined to end badly love story coming up, but she wasn't going to stop it.

There was another love story going on. She was having lunch in the sun, sitting on the stairs outside, watching all the activity surrounding her. Trent had told her about the performance the Warblers had once done at the spot she was sitting. A cover of 'Somewhere only we know' for Kurt, who had went back to McKinley High because of some unexplainable reason. Blaine had followed him not soon after. Now, the lead singer began to sing again, raising from his place while serenading Kurt Hummel. The boy - 'Gay Face' really fit him as nickname -, despite being graduated, had still stuck around at school. Another unexplainable thing. Now, his boyfriend showed him what singing was, and Marie-Claire found herself enjoying the show.

She even started to clap and dance along. The girl felt the urge to sing, but she didn't. She knew - better than Sebastian - something about privacy and this would bother Blaine, Kurt and the enjoyable performance. So she laughed for the first time since weeks and swung on the stairs. Blaine once looked at her, recognizing her. He flashed her a short smile.

Apparently, Blaine Anderson was a forgiving person. He didn't hold a grudge against her because of the actions of her stupid, not thinking, lovable brother. He treated her as someone who he liked. Almost as a friend. She slowly realized this might have been the thing Sebastian liked about him. He was sweet, nice, caring. He had this hidden rough side in his personality which she could easily spot - being a Smythe and always showing that side. The cafeteria had been full, but both Blaine and Marley had invited her to sit over with them, at the New Directions table. Where Kitty and the jocks were also sitting.

"Congrats on getting in," she first said to Marley, trying to get some extra time to think. Though actually, she didn't need to think. She glanced at the jocks and then shook her head. "I'm not going to share a table with _them_," she then said, looking straight in the eyes of Kitty, who smiled meanly. The blonde had a very, very mean attitude. Marie-Claire almost liked her.

"No one asked you too," she said, sounding arrogant, as always.

"I did," Blaine muttered, but he didn't sound very convincing. Marie-Claire was surprised how easily he backed away. Marley said nothing, but she looked pleadingly at the brown girl, who had glanced at Kitty once again.

"Nice try, Anderson," Marie-Claire smirked. "See you later, Directioners." She ignored the popular trio, who now had already focused her attention on the lunch lady. "Good luck Marley..." the green eyed girl muttered. She wasn't far away when she suddenly heard Marley snap.

"Because she's my mum."

Silence.

Marie-Claire walked on, put her plate back and only picked up a piece of bread. She turned around, walking towards the hall. Marley was leaving the table and somehow, the Smythe felt to urge to help the sophomore. So when the sweet girl took the expected direction and practically ran into the hallway, Marie-Claire went after her, much slower. She saw the other girl sliding down the hall, bursting into tears. And she walked towards her. Marley noticed her, smiled through her tears.

"There goes my chance for friends," she managed to croak.

"You don't need such friends," Marie-Claire shrugged. She leaned against a locker, avoiding eye contact with Marley. She didn't touch her, didn't hug her, didn't make a move to comfort her. She hoped her presence was enough to show Marley she supporting her, since she wasn't good in showing other signs. She never really needed support nowadays, not even from Sebastian.

It seemed to help.

"Thanks," Marley said softly.

Marie-Claire left.

* * *

The famous stripper Sam Evans was the first guy in McKinley High who got her appreciation.

For one minute.

But, usually she didn't appreciate someone much longer, so he did a good job apologizing to Marley. Marie-Claire had been afraid she had to be forced friends with the sophomore, but the Glee club members saved her that burden. She had to admit that she was pleasantly surprised by the sudden rejection of popularity from the New Directioners. They hadn't had their fame long, but it had already asked a price too high. The green eyed girl was happy the singers turned their back on reputation. Though it would cause them to slide down the pyramid. She now wondered if she had made the right decision not to join them.

"Well, I guess, we're not in your crew anymore," Blaine told Kitty.

Marie-Claire smirked. Those were the words she wanted to hear. Even though she could already tell what was going to happen next. She put her last books in her locker and closed it slowly, watching the scene next to her from the corners of her eyes. Indeed, the slushies came soon. Marley and Wade - or Unique, as the annoying diva wanted to be called - were the targets, obviously as the new ones of the club. The Smythe shook her head, then slowly walked away, hearing Blaine reacting calm behind her.

_Just go for it. - Sebastian_

She looked with a frown at the screen of her iPhone. Sebastian knew that she could sing - he also knew that she didn't join the New Directions. And apparently, he didn't agree with her choice. She looked over her shoulder, smirking.

_They're a pain in the ass. - MC_

_Well, so am I. You still put up with me. - Sebastian_

_Do I need to answer that? - MC  
_

_Are they still arrogant bitches? - Sebastian  
_

She thought about this. She had described them as such, but only because of their former actions - which they had now apologized for.

_Just a pain in the ass now. - MC_

_Then go for it. - Sebastian  
_

_You're awesome, Claire. And Blaine is amazing. Join them! - Trent  
_

So Trent had joined the discussion. She already saw it coming that Nick and Jeff - probably her favorite pair of Warblers, ever - would say something too. And then David and Thad couldn't stay behind. Though she never called the Dalton boys her friends, they did mean something to her. Like they meant something to Sebastian. They both just didn't admit it.

_No more pressing. I'll see what I can do. - MC_

She sent the text to all the Warblers, scrolled through their reactions - many 'yay's and 'you will rock's - and then put her iPhone in the pockets of her blue jeans. Claire grabbed her back and walked towards the auditorium. There the New Directioners were performing a new song - 'Chasing Pavements'. She slowly went inside. Jake was already standing there. She smirked. He was turning around, about to leave, when he saw her. A dark look appeared his eyes, while Marley was singing on the background. Marie-Claire stared right in the eyes of the boy, who tried to rush past her.

"Bye, Puckerman," she said to him.

He turned around, a shocked look on his face, before moving forward, grabbing her arm painfully harsh. But she was used to pain. She looked at him without winching.

"How did _you_ know? Don't dare and tell _anyone_."

"Calm down, baby face," she grinned wickedly. "I'm not telling anyone. You're not interesting enough, anyway."

He was just too easily angry. With a grunt, he let her go, moving backwards and then running away. She looked at him, puzzled. The girl didn't get why his family was such a big deal for him. Even for her, with her fucked up brother and her violent father, she still was easy-going with her name. Actually, she was quite proud of it. She shrugged, focusing her attention on the performing singers. They were almost done. Marley hit the last note, the group gathered, cheered briefly, but Blaine noticed her.

"Marie?"

No way back.

"It's Marie-Claire," she told him. "Or Claire."

He just nodded.

"I want to audition," she then said, looking at William Schuester now. He looked at her, confused, but there appeared a smile on his face and he gestured towards the podium, even though it now seemed he was bossed around by a pupil. The other members of the Glee club moved of the stage - Marley and Blaine smiling at her. She still didn't get why the latter was being friendly, while he only knew some bad things about her. She just nodded as a greeting and made her way on the stage - then realizing she hadn't practiced on a song.

She looked at the people sitting in front of her. Waiting.

They had changed. Not only in the past few years, but in the past few days. Marley had found friends, Wade found an accepting group. Blaine was now a leader. And the others - she hoped they had learned from their mistakes. Though she wasn't sure about Tina. She just plainly disliked the girl. And Brittany probably would never change. But still - the New Directions had changed, a lot. Maybe she needed a change herself. Later, she would be just going home. Her father could beat her up. She wouldn't do a thing about it.

It could change.

She told the musicians her song. Not whispering, but talking loud and clear. "Hurricane, 30 seconds to Mars." Mr Schuester raised his eyebrows, as did some of the others. She knew the song by heart, though, and would be able to put quite some emotion in it. She walked to a microphone, slowly put her hand around it.

"What's your name?" William asked.

"Marie-Claire. Smythe."

Death glare number one was from Artie.

Death glare number two was from Tina.

Death glare number three was from Sam.

Brittany didn't remember the name, probably. She just looked plainly confused to the others, who stiffened and looked at her with puzzled and slightly angered glances - only Blaine, Marley and Wade kept calm. And the last two didn't have any history with the Warblers. She smirked and gestured the music to start. Maybe the song choice didn't have to do with a change originally. But for her, it did. A chance was a decision. The decision to do something.

_No matter how many times that you told me you wanted leave  
No matter how many breaths that you took you still couldn't breathe_  
_No matter how many nights that you'd lie wide awake to the sound of the poison rain  
Where did you go_  
_Where did you go_  
_Where did you go _

_Tell me would you kill to save a life_  
_Tell me would you kill to prove you're right_  
_Crash crash ... burn let it all burn_  
_This hurricane's chasing us all underground _

_No matter how many deaths that I die I will never forget_  
_No matter how many lives that I live I will never regret_  
_There is a fire inside of this heart and a riot about to explode into flames_  
_Where is your God_  
_Where is your God_  
_Where is your God _

How long until she wouldn't be able to take the beating? How long before she wouldn't be able to hide behind a mask? She was awake, listening to the rain, doing nothing. She should move, confront the constant rain, and walk through it. She could face her father, face her fears. She was young, strong. No one would be able to hold her back. Dying. Living. She had seen it all before.

_Do you really want_  
_Do you really want me_  
_Do you really want me dead or alive_  
_To torture for my sins_  
_Do you really want_  
_Do you really want me_  
_Do you really want me dead or alive_  
_To live a lie _

_Tell me would you kill to save a life_  
_Tell me would you kill to prove you're right_  
_Crash crash Burn let it all burn_  
_This hurricane's chasing us all underground _

_The promises we made were not enough_  
_The prayers that we had prayed were like a drug_  
_The secrets that we sold were never known_  
_The love we had the love we had_  
_We had to let it go _

Let it go. Don't live the lie.

She needed to leave her father, built her own life. She wouldn't be able to take it much longer, yet she didn't want to be the one to break. The act they had - the happy family. It wouldn't work much long. Her brother didn't know how bad it was. She needed it to stop before he realized. She needed to run away from home, in order to make something for her own. She couldn't stay in the house of her father. Her mother wasn't there. Her grandmother had died. Sebastian was at Dalton. Nothing bound her to the house she didn't even call home.

She closed her eyes, grabbed the microphone tightly. She hardly moved, but put everything in her voice. The New Directioners were looked at her with awe, shock and even sadness - some of them. Mr Schuester loved it. Most of the others could help but admire the emotion and strength in her voice. But Blaine and Marley seemed to get the message. They looked concerned. Marley's eyes were wet. Blaine's mouth was hanging slightly open, his eyes shone.

_Tell me would you kill to save a life_  
_Tell me would you kill to prove you're right_  
_Crash crash ... burn let it all burn_  
_This hurricane's chasing us all underground _

_This hurricane_  
_This hurricane_  
_This hurricane _

She had had enough. She couldn't take it, she wouldn't take it.

Tonight, she would run away from the house. Perhaps she wouldn't have a roof above her head, but she couldn't take the beatings, the constant atmosphere of tension. The waiting was even worse than the beating itself. Her eyes were teary, but she didn't cry.

She wouldn't let herself cry.

She would be strong.

_Do you really want_  
_Do you really want me_  
_Do you really want me dead or alive_  
_To torture for my sins_  
_Do you really want_  
_Do you really want me_  
_Do you really want me dead or alive_  
_To live a lie_


	2. Britney 20

Welcome (back)! Next chapter. It seems all a bit rushed, but I don't know how to do it otherwise, since I want to keep it interesting and for Marie-Claire, the episode wasn't very relevant. So I tried to bring some other things in it. I have a hard time writing her dialogue, since I want her to be bitchy, but I found out my strong point isn't insulting people.  
Also, how do you guys feel about the appearance of Warblers next chapter? It is a risk because I don't know if they're changed, but I like them too much..

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

**Song(s) used: **'You are the moon' - The Hush Sound

* * *

**Britney 2.0**

_"Look, I don't mean to be a bitch. Well, actually I do."  
_

* * *

_Told you. - Sebastian_

_I'm sure you were fantastic! - Trent  
_

_shame u cant join us. Nicky think so 2 - Jeff ft. Nick  
_

She rolled her eyes when she was done reading the text messages. Sebastian was his arrogant self, Trent was overreacting and Jeff was annoying the crap out of her with his poorly written comments. It had always seemed like the blond Warbler made it his own special task to irritate her. He was doing a great job at it. Nick probably kept his reputation as A student better, but he never sent her messages, since he and Jeff were always together. Everyone knew that text messages from Jeff were also from Nick, but the two Dalton boys always added Nicks name, just in case - even though they were aware that their friends just saved them as 'Niff' in their address book and Marie-Claire, who didn't want to be called a friend, just had 'Jeff featuring Nick'.

She preferred not to be named a friend. It came with too many obligations. Also, she wasn't great at being one. The last time someone had depended on her in the name of friendship, that person broke of with her boyfriend because of Marie-Claire's comments on his ridiculous hair, then had decided to try and starve herself because of what Marie-Claire had said about sweet, pink cupcakes with hearts on them. The time before that, a boy who had called himself her friend had ended up being thrown in a dumpster, even though he was a quite popular football player, while she walked away. The very few friendships she had had - there were perhaps five, none of them lasted longer than a week - were broken that way. Or her lovable brother had talked too much.

Maybe her not having friends was what right now increased her troubles. Running away from home hadn't been a great idea. Usually, she thought longer about her actions, took preparations and made well balanced decisions. Music changed her, though. It made her feel boundless, free. Singing was what opened up the more genuine and caring person in herself - the one that she kept pushing away. A song made her reckless and very stupid. So when she had come home that day, it didn't went so well.

The auditorium was empty. Even her light footsteps echoed through the room, which was uncomfortably silent. The air was heavy - or did she only imagine that, thinking about the last time she was here? Slowly, she walked down the large stairs, towards the stage, but she did not move further to stand in the most important stop of the space. Instead, she stepped back and sat down on one of the stairs on the front row. She crossed her legs, let her chin rest on her hand and looked thoughtful at the stage.

* * *

_~ Five days before ~_

She closed the door with a loud bang. Though taking a beating by your father quite often could make a person feel miserable, unworthy of anything and above all very scared, she didn't feel that way. Okay, perhaps she sometimes felt miserable and she _knew_ she was unworthy of some things, but she never really felt scared of her father. Howard had punched and kicked her that many times, that she thought she knew what was the worst she could get. Fear had felt her, instead had appeared anger. And that anger had made things a lot more complicated.

"Marie-Claire!" The angry shout had come from the kitchen. Usually, she would have ignored it, but today was a day she had decided to change. Apart from the fact that she had auditioned for the New Directions - and had been let in, of course -, she now was about to stand up to her father. This was not a first, but it was a last. She walked with pounding heart towards the kitchen, dropping her backpack on the ground in the large hall. "You're late, where are you when I need you?" Howard exclaimed. The grey haired man was convinced that she helped him willingly by letting him beat her. Even though she resisted occasionally.

"Having a life," she shrugged. Before he could say anything, she went on. "Look. I've had enough of this shit. You're not going to beat me every fucking day. I'm not going to take that. You may find me pathetic and only useful as punchbag, but I've found some other use for myself. I'm leaving. And I'm not coming back anytime soon. So good luck with your life. You'll need it." She turned around, knowing what would follow. She didn't provoke him often. Now she had done it and she had went even further than other times - so the price would be higher.

The first blow was in her stomach. His fist bore deep into her body, pushing her backwards. He shoved her into a wall, punched her. She took the beating, letting his hand pain her. She suddenly felt so fragile, feeling everything ache, feeling her anger and all other emotions leaving her, only leaving her numb. Marie-Claire didn't think. She let her shaking legs slide her down on the ground. The kicks came. It was the same old ritual. Howard didn't aim. He never aimed. He just wanted to turn his frustrations into violence. She coughed, breathed painfully.

Then it changed.

It never changed.

She felt how her father dragged her up her feet and pressed her against the wall. His face was close to her, his heavy hands lay on her shoulders. The warmth of his breath. The shaking of his body. The anger in his brown eyes. She became suddenly aware of how close he was. She was nothing to him. Just an irritating teenage girl who he had in his power. She had never feared him. Never feared the beatings. But now, it hit her. All the things that he could do with her. And she would be able to stop him. Because even though she convinced herself that she was strong, she never could take him on. Her face turned pale, her green eyes widened. She was much smaller than him. Her hands began to shake, she trembled.

Howard Smythe looked how his daughter showed fear. For the first time. He loosed his grip, the flames of anger were slowly put out. But Marie-Claire didn't think straight. Though this was normal again and her father now stopped beating her, he had taken her by surprise. She managed to release herself from his grip. With a cry, she pushed him away from her and slapped him in his face. He looked at her with wide eyes and she knew she had gone to far.

Yet the blow on her jaw took her by surprise.

As an unspoken rule, her father had never touched her face. Maybe to keep the cover up, maybe because it was too confronting. But now he hit her in the face. Twice. She was slammed backwards again, but now adrenaline rushed through her body. She grabbed a knife and put it in front of her, pointing it at her father, who shook his head in disbelief. She smirked. Later, she wouldn't know how she had the power to smirk, but she did. Then, she stepped backwards, grabbed her back and ran into her room, closing the door and packing her most precious and most needed belongings.

The air was cold. It had already turned dark - she had indeed been home late, not having been able to take the bus and thus having to walk. Some stars lighted up the night. She sighed, turned around and grabbed the two bags. She threw her backpack for school on her shoulder, having filled it with practical things. In the larger handbag were mostly clothes and some other belongings. One glance at her room. It seemed so empty. She never really realized that, despite how rich she was, she didn't really have much things. A small, sad smile appeared on her face. She turned away, hearing her father come up the stairs and banging on the door. She threw her large bag out of the window, then followed herself, more carefully.

Closing the portal, she looked once more at the huge mansion her father would now be inhabiting alone. Then, she turned away and faced the night alone.

* * *

She felt like crap.

She had fallen asleep in the auditorium, which wasn't a big surprise, since she hadn't slept well in days. She didn't need much sleep, luckily. But even she had her limits. Marie-Claire had decided not to turn for help to her brother. She hadn't even told him their father had beaten her, let alone that she had run away from the mansion and hadn't returned. She wondered how long it would take Sebastian to discover her little secret. It wouldn't take him long, she reckoned. Both her brother and she loved blackmail material and knew practically everything about people they either cared about or just thought of as interesting. Since they both had only one person in the first category - okay, maybe Sebastian liked to put Blaine in it as well -, it was updated quite often.

Recently, she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings much. William Schuester had announced Britney week. The New Directioners had seemed quite excited about this, but Marie-Claire didn't really like Britney Spears and she didn't care for Brittany. There was something wrong with the now ex-Cheerio, she got that, but she didn't bother to help her. She was bored watching the performance of Blaine and Artie - she thought the songs were crap - and now she again wasn't touched by the number '3' by Tina, Joe and Sam. Even when Brittany tried to shave her hear off, she had just sat motionless in the back of the room, looking with crossed arms at the shocked faces of the Glee club members.

She did move, though, after she heard shouts in the halls. She slowly walked, together with Blaine, Tina and Artie, to the door. There, she stood still and watched the scene in front of her. Jacob Ben Israel - the most annoying guy she had ever seen - was stalking Brittany, who was shouting to him to leave her alone. Marie-Claire studied it amused, again crossing her arms, her lips curling into a smirk. The Cheerio started hitting the wannabe journalist. Claire had to suppress a biting laugh. Her eyes showed the satisfaction she felt. It was time that Israel learning his place. She wished she would have hit him herself a week ago, but she had decided not to. Instead, she had insulted not only his ugly face, but also his mother and little sister. He had not liked it, but had walked away. Victory had been hers.

"Should we do something?" Blaine asked hesitantly next to her.

"No, he deserves it," Tina responded. For the first time, Marie-Claire found herself agreeing with the girl.

Marie-Claire just looked at Brittany and Israel and didn't listen to what the others said. Only when Blaine called out her name, she turned towards him with a raised eyebrow. He wanted to know what song from Britney she was going do. "None," she answered, shrugging.

"Everyone is going to go one," Artie pointed out.

Tina glared daggers at her. "But little Miss Smythe here thinks she's above the law, doesn't she?" the Asian girl started to speak. "So you're going to do no song? You were just looking with that disapproving look of yours to the song of Blaine and Artie, and now to my song, but you're not going to do one yourself? You're a coward. So, how much does your _brother_ already know about us? Did you tell him everything, sell us away? He's again going to try and corrupt one of us, isn't he? Again going after Blaine, again trying to ruin our lives. You Smythes are worth nothing. You are just watching while Brittany destroys her life. You don't care for anyone, _Marie-Claire_."

She held her eyebrow raised and looked at the Asian girl. Marie-Claire wasn't tall - she was quite small, not even reaching Blaine's height - but with her arms crossed, her back straight and her piercing green eyes, she could look quite threatening. "You are fucking kidding me. Yes, I do not listen to anyone but myself, but that's about all you got right. I don't like Britney, I'm not going to do a song. _Sebastian_ has nothing to do with this. I didn't now my brother had made such an impression on you, though. Afraid much? We didn't talk, I told him nothing. He wouldn't need it. The Warblers would win with ease from this excuse for a Glee club."

Artie opened his mouth. "Shut it, invalid nerd," she snapped before he could speak. "Look, Asian bitch. Use your brains. You just sang a damn song about counting, so you'd think you would be able to. We haven't even got enough people to be allowed to participate and talent isn't anywhere to be found in this group. And about being worth nothing and not caring, have you looked at yourself? Chang, you're nothing but a bossing around background singer who hasn't even got the ability to be the leader of a high school _Glee club_ for losers."

Tina actually looked hurt by those comments. Blaine - always the peacemaker - tried to step in. "Claire, I don't -"

"Don't try, Switzerland. And trust me, Sebastian won't try to steal you away from your girlfriend. He won't need to, because you won't last another month with that gay face when he is consumed by the big city. Prepare for the real world. You won't be holding hands with someone. You're going to be alone, facing troubles bigger than being kicked out of a cheerleader group. Dumb blonde over there won't last a minute. And neither will you guys if you think you can go like this."

"I'm not a nerd..." Artie muttered. He was late.

Now she laughed. Short, biting. "Then stop dressing like you'd rather be in the Big Bang Theory than in a Glee club," she commented. With that, she turned away from the faces of the New Directioners. The slightly confused expression from Artie, the hurt but above that furious one of Tina and of course the very disappointed one from Blaine.

"We found ourselves a new Santana," Artie whispered.

She didn't respond - not taking the conclusion as an insult. Not at all. She had heard some stories about the bitchy lesbian cheerleader and it didn't bother her that she was know compared to Lopez. The brown haired Smythe walked through the hall and concluded that she had managed to be civil and quite unnoticed for two weeks. Probably a record. She gave a staring junior an arrogant look - causing him to look away - and opened her locker. It was more filled that in the beginning of her school year. Since she had run away from home, she had tried to sleep in the school and her handbag was stuffed into the locker.

Her father hadn't searched for her, had made no move to get her back. The credit card she had taken, had been blocked, though. She had foreseen this and got a large amount of cash, but she had decided not to go and live in a hotel. Marie-Claire would first seek for a good roof above her head, something affordable. And she needed a job. Right now, she had enough money to buy food, but it wouldn't last long. Howard Smythe had apparently decided to keep paying her education. Maybe he thought she was coming back. But she wasn't.

Reluctant, she started walking again, not knowing were to go. There was no class to attend, she had a free period. Somehow, she found herself heading towards the choir room, where voices could be heard. She slowed her pace, listened carefully - spying had never been something she had been ashamed of. It always had turned out to be useful. She walked passed the doorway, seeing Jake in the room, together with a larger guy with a mohawk. It took her some time, but Marie-Claire eventually realized it was Noah 'Puck' Puckerman, an alumni and ex-member of the New Directions.

Brother moment.

Not very touching.

She just listened to the speech the older Puckerman was giving, not moving, standing next to the door, unnoticed by the brothers. Quickly, she decided it wasn't interesting enough. Just some big talk and a bit of crap advice - why the hell would baby Puckerman join the New Directions if he didn't feel like it? The girl started to move away from the room, bored by the dialogue. Though she wasn't really watching her surroundings, she could have been prepared for the sudden confrontation against a body. Not someone in front of her - no. Someone behind her.

"Fuck," she muttered, falling on the ground.

Damn. She hated being embarrassed.

With an angry glance, she looked at the person who had shoved her on the ground. Her bruised body still hurt from the last confrontation she had had with her father - though the blue and purple marks on her face had almost faded away completely. Her green eyes met those of the guy whom she had been eavesdropping on. A frown appeared on her face when Puck extended his hand to her.

"Sorry babe. Didn't see ya there," he said with a small smile on his face, eying her curiously.

Not her type. Not at all.

She pushed herself up, ignoring the hand, and grabbed her back. "Idiot," she said. "Are you blind? It can't be your hair that was in the way." She glanced angrily at him, causing him to loose his interested expression. He frowned. She turned away, started to walk again, but he didn't move, kept looking at her. She stopped and called over her shoulder. "Don't you have date?"

"What?" Noah Puckerman moved forward, grabbed her shoulder.

Ouch. That hurt.

She somehow kept herself from wincing. With a straight face, she studied the expression of the boy.

"That was private," he said begrudgingly.

She smirked. "This is a public school. If you want private, don't go here. And before you ask, no, I'm not interesting in fucking you."

Puckerman loosened his grip. She pulled herself free, raising an eyebrow while looking at him. "Do I know you?" the boy with the mohawk asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Nope. I think you had some nice group chats with my brother, though." He didn't seem to get the hint. She crossed her arms, grinning like the devil. "The name is Marie-Claire Smythe."

Now he got the message. His eyes lighted up - for only a second, then his glance darkened and he stepped forward, standing too close for her comfort, but she didn't show it, making herself as tall as she could, staring at him. "Look bitch. I might be away from the New Directions, but my friends still belong there, and if you do anything to hurt them, I will beat your pretty face to pulp, together with that of your brother," he whispered threatening.

She smirked - again. "You wouldn't be the first who tried. And you wouldn't be the first who failed. Keep your hands on your dates, please." She shook her head. "Don't try to threaten me. Or Sebastian. You'd end up the one being hurt, bastard."

"Ya think I'm afraid? Well, not for you, slut, and not for that man whore."

He had went too far. She shoved him back. "The only whore I see is standing right in front of me," she commented. Before the guy could make a move, she again pushed him away, towards a small room with only cleaning stuff. Puckerman was taken by surprise, looking in the furious green eyes, and stumbled back into the cramped space. Marie-Claire shut the door, trapping him inside the dark, small room. She smirked, waited for a few minutes - just to enjoy the frustrated shouts of the older guy - and then moved away. Someone would find him this day. And otherwise tomorrow morning. Too bad his so called date would miss him.

She didn't expect the next words from behind her, though.

"Please... Let me _out_..." The broken voice of Noah Puckerman was most certainly not something she wanted to hear. Slowly, she turned around. "Please..."

Marie-Claire raised an eyebrow. If she had been a pure bully, she would have walked away. If she had been any other person, she would have freed the guy, who sounded much to scared for ... well, him. She was a bitch, though, and a tired one, which didn't make things much better. Instead of choosing between those two options, she raised her voice. "What, the original badass doesn't sound so badass now, does he?" She smirked, her eyes showed nothing, but in her head, she was weighing her options.

"Just let me out!"

The more angry shout comforted her, in a strange way. "So, are you sorry for calling me a slut and my brother a man whore?" she asked sweetly.

"Fuck you!"

"Too bad. See you tomorrow."

"Okay, okay! I..."

"Bye!"

"I'm sorry! Just let me out!" The pleading was followed by a sob.

Uncomfortably, she stood still, waiting for another sound, but there was no. She bit her lip, for the first time showing doubt. She moved towards the door, turned the key and opened it, looking inside. Puckerman was sitting on the floor, hugging himself. Though he wasn't crying, his eyes were way too wet for Marie-Claire's comfort and his pale face showed fear. The guy was trembling. He didn't even seem to notice her, even though there was now light in the dark space.

"What's up with you?" she asked harsh.

He didn't answer her.

"Fuck this," she muttered to herself, looking around her. So perhaps she wasn't the most nice girl in the world - she was a bitch. She didn't care for others and especially not those she hardly knew. She was a lot like her brother. And they both had some idea of where the line was laying. She was now staring at the line. A sigh escaped her lips. She took off her jacket and threw it towards Puckerman. It fell on his knees. He moved slightly, staring at the clothing with confusion written all over his face. Marie-Claire turned around, walked towards the closest coffee machine, got a strong cup of the heat drink and brought it back to the still trembling guy.

It was a waste of money, she decided, looking at the cup, then giving it to the boy with the mohawk, who was now sitting in the hallway with his back pressed against a locker. He had her jacket laying on his shoulder and took the cup without words. Immediately, he tried to drink, but only burned his tongue in reward. She shook her head.

"Claustrophobia?"

"Got once locked up for 24 hours..."

"Claustrophobia."

Quietly, the guy drank his coffee. She just leaned against the lockers. This was the second time she was comforting someone. Perhaps she was doing a good job at changing a bit. At being nicer than usually.

"What's with the sudden switch?" Puckerman asked her. "Being nice."

"If you're a bitch, I'm a bitch," she stated. "You aren't being a bitch now."

"Thanks," he whispered.

She didn't respond.

* * *

"You're better in it than your brother, you know."

"You can't know that."

"Not sex. Being nice."

"Aha."

She took another sip of her coffee, looking at Noah. After he had cheered up, he had decided not to go on his date, but instead take her to a coffee place where they could talk. They had been sitting now for quite long, discussing how to be a bastard, bitch and badass and how the Glee club was going. She was actually having fun. Though Marie-Claire didn't know why she had accepted his offer, she was quite content she had done it. He at least paid, so she didn't have to worry about the money.

Noah Puckerman could be a jerk, and she quite liked it about him. He reminded her of Sebastian, too. They both loved drinking, sex and bars. And since she had had to put up with all the stories from her brother, she knew quite something about them, and Noah and she had discussed quite some things - apart from the New Directions.

"So, that performance... When is it?"

She looked up, staring confused at Noah. There was something she was missing right now.

"The Britney Spears song?"

"Oh fuck," she muttered, looking at her watch.

Too late.

Noah seemed to understand her movements. "Well, you said you weren't going to perform anyway, right?"

"Yeah, I don't do lip synching. But I have to be there," she shrugged.

"I'll see ya. Text me."

"Sure, later!"

* * *

It was a complete disaster.

Marie-Claire was late, but she hadn't missed anything at all. Brittany seemed drunk and was stumbling on the stage, while the New Directions behind her were trying to fix her flaws. It couldn't be more painfully obvious that they were lip syncing. She shook her head in disappointment. Through stories of her brother she had heard that the Glee Club from McKinley High was like a drama show, but that was an understatement. Schuester looked as if he couldn't decide whether to cry or be angry and even Coach Sylvester seemed displeased.

When Marie-Claire joined the New Directions behind the stage, she didn't look at them. In silence, they walked towards the choir room, sitting down on the stairs. It wasn't a surprise to the teenagers when a furious William Schuester entered and held an angry speech. Even the Smythe felt guilty, though she hadn't sang with the others.

"Wait, Marie-Claire," she heard behind her when she wanted to leave the room like the other New Directioners.

"What?" she asked, sounding defensive.

If mister Schuester found this approach insulting, he didn't show it. "Why weren't you with the others, performing?"

"You call that performing?" she said. "I didn't agree with the lip syncing, so I didn't join them." And she had been having coffee with Noah Puckerman, but she wasn't going to tell the Spanish teacher that.

"Even if you didn't agree with their actions, you should have been there," he told her. "I'm disappointed in you. Your audition was amazing - you put all the right emotion in it, you have a good voice. But you lack the team spirit that is essential. I have heard about your brother, though probably not even a part of what all happened. What I do know, is that he made some mistakes. Don't you go that way, too. I know you're a good person. Show your support to the others, be a team player. You must not only be their with victories, but also with losses."

She looked right in his eyes. Her green eyes said nothing, but his spoke more than his mouth. She smiled slightly. He was the first teacher - the first adult, actually - who had made a good impression on her while lecturing. Slowly, she nodded.

He grinned widely. "I'll be expecting a solo next repetition, Marie-Claire." Now she couldn't hide the shock from her face, hearing the unexpected demand. He laughed. "Don't worry, you won't have to do a Britney."

* * *

Baby face had decided to listen to his older brother.

He was welcomed warmly in the group - though his face said something else. It was better than how they had 'accepted' her. Tina and Artie had simply turned their back on her, Sam had tried to smile but he'd glared daggers. Wade - Unique, what the hell, she didn't care - had looked at her with a look that she hadn't been able to place. She hadn't bothered to try - it had been a negative one. Blaine and Marley had smiled, okay. Now they did that too. And Joe had muttered something about 'God' and 'second chances'. Not important.

She ignored the younger Puckerman during the song of Marley. There seemed to be happened something between them. Claire knew Marley liked the boy - damn, she couldn't have missed all the glances - but Jake hadn't returned her feelings, from the looks of it. The green eyed girl didn't know what to think of it. She didn't believe in love at first sight, nor at teenage love or marriage. Or anything close to it.

After Marley's song was finished, she walked towards the piano, sat down and faced the New Directioners. "I know some of you have doubts about me, probably since I'm the sister of Sebastian first flirting then fucking Smythe and since I'm a bitch, but I do want to be here, in the Glee club," she said after a short silence. Some smiled, others kept their poker faces. Then she looked to Brittany and started playing.

_Shadows all around you as you surface from the dark_  
_ Emerging from the gentle grip of night's unfolding arms_  
_ Darkness, darkness everywhere, do you feel all alone?_  
_ The subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone_

_ You don't see what you possess, a beauty calm and clear_  
_ It floods the sky and blurs the darkness like a chandelier_  
_ All the light that you possess is skewed by lakes and seas_  
_ The shattered surface, so imperfect, is all that you believe_

_ I will bring a mirror, so silver, so exact_  
_ So precise and so pristine, a perfect pane of glass_  
_ I will set the mirror up to face the blackened sky_  
_ You will see your beauty every moment that you rise_

Slowly, she played the last notes, then lifted her hands. She had looked at Brittany quite some times during the song, hoping the dumb blonde would understand her message. Because she wasn't going to clarify it. Once again, she only showed her emotions through music. William Schuester applauded, along with the others - even Tina and Artie. Blaine smiled. Could that guy never be angry? She had insulted him, his friends and his boyfriend, yet he still seemed to like her.

"It's a very pretty song," Brittany commented. "I like the moon. But you should sing it again tonight, because she's sleeping right now."


	3. Makeover

Mm, I don't really feel content about this chapter, but this was the hardest episode up until now, and I think even the next is going to be easier. There didn't really happen much to the whole Glee Club, just a part of it, and of course, it had to be about running for president, in which my character isn't interested, at all.  
So I put some Warblers in it... Always good to write some more words.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

**Song(s) used: **'Falling in Love' - McFly

* * *

**Makeover**

_"Once a Warbler, always a Warbler."_

* * *

_look out 4 my bro, will ya? - Puck  
_

The text message arrived during maths – she looked at the screen of her iPhone, frowning while she was wondering why the hell she had ever accepted the coffee offer from Noah Puckerman. It wasn't something she would have done two weeks ago. Then, she would have simply declined the offer, not even trying to be polite. But apparently, a few days without a roof above her head changed her, perhaps for the better.

The teacher walked past her table, but he didn't notice she was somewhere else with her mind. He wouldn't care anyway. Her marks were good, but above all, the teacher at William McKinley High School were crap. Their lack of teaching skills would be another reason why pupils rather focused on bullying each other than learning something. On her first day, Marie-Claire had decided the system was pathetic.

The bell rang.

Slowly, she raised, still looking at her phone, wondering how to answer the message. There was something about her, lately. She still had the days that she insulted people with ease, not caring about whatever they would think or feel. She'd had such days last week - the Britney week. Yet, before that, the first weeks of school, she had been quite nice for her doing. Though she would never be a saint - or just a sweet girl - she had managed not to make someone cry or run for his or her mother.

Was it an improvement?

The slight change had began last year, after the suicide of David Karofsky. Hell, she hadn't even known the guy, yet he had managed to make get himself a place in her life, one way or another. Since Sebastian was probably the most important person she had - and the only one -, she'd heard about the bully but gay guy from her brother. How he committed suicide. No, he hadn't. It didn't work. But it could have. And both the Smythes knew that. They were people to face their flaws - not necessarily chance them, but at least they didn't think they were perfect. Still, it had hit them both knowing their insults, their sharp tongues, could hurt someone that much.

Perhaps that was what had made her more ... caring.

_Sure. - MC_

She thought about Pucks words. 'You're better in it than your brother, you know. Being nice.' She still was hesitating whether to take it as a compliment or as an insult. It was probably meant as the first, but for her, it usually belonged to the latter.

Sunken in thoughts, she wandered around in the hallway. Her face was quite pale, there were walls under her green eyes. Though she had carefully brushed her hair, washed her body and cleaned her clothes, it was still clear there was something not entirely okay with her. She tried to hide it, though. The New Directioners were teenagers who knew nothing about privacy. Even during lunch, they had started to stare at her. Yes, she was eating more than usual, but that was because it was her breakfast too, and she couldn't be sure she'd get dinner. She hadn't got much money left and sleeping at school wasn't as easy as it seemed.

So, she felt like crap.

Not paying attention to anything around her, she walked into someone - or, as she'd rather see it, someone walked into her. She glared daggers at the sophomore guy, who quietly slipped way - that was the common effect of her glare - at now looked forward. There was the wall with sign-up sheets for some clubs. She had already decided not to join them and was about to pass the wall without looking, until she heard some girls talking.

"... Anderson ..."

"He's standing everywhere!"

"Loser."

"Look, he wants to be president."

"... gay ..."

She was interested and studied the papers. Indeed, Blaine's name was standing everywhere. She frowned, despite herself wondering why he would possibly want to sign up for every club. _Superhero sidekicks club_. _Sewing club_. Damn, he was far gone. Marie-Claire didn't even know why she wanted to look at the papers, but still she read every paper, every name. Blaine had probably not only made a move to kill his social life, but also his body. She shook her head and immediately made a conclusion.

Blaine missed Kurt and wanted distraction.

Damn, she should become a relationship therapist. Her brother would be an interesting subject of study. As would every person in this school. She already saw another relationship breaking - apart from the lost-distance ones from Blaine and Brittany - and that was the friendship between Brittany and Blaine. He was running for president, Brittany also.

Marie-Claire sighed. Keeping up with the drama would be hard this year, but she was perhaps going too fast now.

* * *

She wasn't.

The last days, she had followed the passive attacks from Brittany on Blaine, she had followed the struggles from Artie and Blaine to cope with their dumb blondes Brittany and Sam, she had followed make overs, she had followed trainings, she had followed the disastrous debate. She had followed the act of Sam, watching him stripping. Sebastian had been very happy with the picture, at least.

In the week, her hatred for public schools had grown.

Her respect for Sue Sylvester, too. She was good in insulting.

But, most of all, she still felt like crap. Her head was aching now, she had been quite hungry the last days and calling herself tired was an understatement - she was exhausted. The running for president had at least taken away the attention from the other Glee club members. Marley had sent her some glances but stopped after one from Marie-Claire herself. Blaine - usually always the saint - was luckily too busy with himself, all his clubs and probably gay face. And the other Glee club members didn't really acknowledge her. Though Jake had looked at her quite some times too. She wondered if his brother had told him anything. Probably not. She didn't even know if the two talking with each other.

"... And now he's not here."

Oh damn. She had hoped with the running for president and actually becoming the president - the party was truly lame, by the way - he would finally not pay attention to his troubles with gay face. Apparently, this had been hopeful thinking. She sighed, listening to his conversation with Sam. They had just sat down at her table, not even asking if they could sit there. Blondie boy with the huge mouth could have just sat down anywhere else, but he hadn't. And somehow, she found it nice. He had accepted her.

Where did that come from?

Oh, yeah, she hadn't insulted him. Yet.

"Of course it matters. You're McKinley Highs first gay guy president!"

Way to voice it Sam.

She kept quiet.

It got better. Actually, Sam cheered Blaine up. She smiled slightly, before watching Blaine and Brittany talk. Sam moved over to her.

"So you can smile," he mentioned.

She frowned, the smile disappearing. "It's something most human being are capable of, and though you'd might prefer it, I haven't walked out one of your movies."

Sam grinned. "Seriously, loosen up. Lately, I've been really good at giving advice. Now let me give you some." She ignored him. "Don't be so mean. You're surely quite nice. Over look the fact that all Smythes have to be asses and try and make friends. At least one. Even Santana had friends, and she was as insulting as you are."

Ah, once again Santana popped up. She had heard much from the girl. Sebastian had actually called her hot, and that was a first for a girl. She looked at Sam, studied him for a while, before moving up and leaving the table. Brittany took her place quickly, but she felt Sam staring at her. Marie-Claire walked away, stopped then, hesitated, and looked at Blaine, who disappeared in the crowd. With a deep sigh, she decided to follow him.

* * *

He was standing outside, looking at the dark sky.

"Well isn't this cliche," she said, sneaking up to him. He turned around quickly, a wide smile appearing on his face. She shook her head. "Cut the crap, gay boy. That smile doesn't even come close to the one Sebastian has been describing to me. If you're not happy, don't smile." He now just looked plainly confused, but the smile faded away. His eyes were sad. She looked away.

"Claire... What are you doing here?" he eventually asked.

"Looking how you're doing. Sam has given me the advice to be nicer. It looks like a good challenge."

"You are ni-"

"I said cut the crap. That's like smiling when you don't feel like it. If it isn't genuine, it's nothing." She shook her head, walked over to a bench and sat down. Blaine followed her lead. "You haven't contacted Kurt yet, you were lying," she stated. He didn't say anything. "Look, Sam might be a dumb blonde with both money and sex issues, but he made a point. You're his bro, he's your bro."

Blaine hid his face in his hands. Damn, she sucked at this.

"He just canceled my call," she then heard from beside her. His voice sounded strained. "He keeps talking about New York and Vogue, couldn't even tell me which bow tie I should choose because he was too busy talking about himself. He has changed. If we chat, he talks about how amazing New York is and his life there. He never truly tells me how much he misses me and I'm missing him like crazy and signed up to these clubs to forget him yet I did all of this for him and he doesn't even - oh, and now I'm saying that he's horrible but he isn't, I -"

"Blaine, whatever you call him, I have said ten times worse, if not more," she reminded him. "Just call him a fucking bastard and a crap girlfriend, then you are over with it. I'm not talking to anyone about this. Especially not people he knows. Or he himself."

"He _isn't_ a -"

"Not the point, killer."

"Sebastian and you are alike."

Okay, that came out of nowhere. "Yeah, you know, he's my brother," she responded sarcastically.

"No, really. You're actually nice, you just don't show it to other people. Just ... to me?" He looked at her, confusing written all over her face. Now, she didn't have an answer. He was speaking the truth. She was trying to help him, now. Sebastian had once tried to help him, in a way, but her brother had been pushed away. While she hadn't. Perhaps because she wasn't trying to make a move on him at the same time. Blaine sighed. "Never mind. You both won't acknowledge it. Thanks, though. It helped - you know..."

She just nodded. Blaine raised, turned around and faced her awkwardly, before pulling her into a hug.

For once, she just let him. Perhaps he was her gay bro, too.

* * *

_I can see you! :) - Trent  
_

That wasn't a good sign. She slowly put her iPhone back in her pocket and looked around her. She had just been taking a walk through Lima when she'd gotten the text from the sassy Warbler. Apparently, he could see her. She frowned slightly, turning around, looking behind her, but she didn't see Trent. He wasn't in front of her, either. She shook her head.

"Claire!"

There he was. He came running to her, a bag over his shoulder, in his Warblers uniform. Why didn't he ever change? She raised one eyebrow, watching him speeding towards her. He didn't slow down, though. She made a move to step away, but too late. He flied into her, successfully tackling her to the ground while she was thinking about when her reflexes had gotten so slow. Probably because she, surprisingly, still felt like crap. It was a recurring theme.

"Ouch," she muttered.

"O my god, I'm so sorry!" She was being pulled up by the overenthusiastic guy. Some people looked at them with puzzled glances, but she didn't care. For the first time in days, she laughed out loud. Shortly, but pleasantly. Trent grinned. "You look like crap!"

"Gee, thanks." She rolled her eyes.

"No, really."

"Trent!"

"O god, what is wrong with you?"

"Huh?"

"Coffee, Lima Bean, Sebastian, Niff..."

"Ehm, Trent?"

Before she knew it, she was sitting inside Lima Bean with a coffee cup in her hands. Trent had fallen down on the chair opposite of her, studied her with a concerned expression. Oh, yes, she remembered she didn't look so good. Even more paler than usual. But that was not the point her. "Coffee, okay, Lima Bean, okay. Sebastian, no. Niff - what the hell?"

"That's better."

"Trent, what the fuck are you implying?"

Trent sighed dramatically. "Well, for starters, you don't look good. But I ran into you, and you laughed. Ten minutes have passed, and you haven't insulted me yet. So, there is something wrong. I need to contact Sebastian, and Nick and Jeff too." He looked quite fond of himself now, acting like he knew every single thing about her.

"You aren't contacting Seb. And Nick and Jeff - what do they have to do think this?"

"They like you. Perhaps David and Thad... And Meatbox and L-"

"Shut the fuck up, Trent. There is nothing wrong with me." She sipped her coffee.

"You let me buy coffee for you," Trent pointed out. He truly looked concerned. She rolled her eyes.

"I was kind of taken off-guard when you first tackled me on the ground, then began screaming thousand excuses and eventually kidnapped me to Lima Bean, of all places. By the way, you could have hurt me badly. This is payment." As usual, she already felt her insulting manners falling. The Warblers had this something about them that she - and Sebastian too, actually - softened up around them. Perhaps it was just their pure innocence. Trent still was a naive young boy, Nick and Jeff still thought what they had was just friendship, David still thought his troubles with his girlfriend had nothing to do with Wes, Thad still thought he was straight - well, the list was long.

"Nice talks, Claire. Now, sit down, enjoy your coffee. Do you want to eat something, you look like you're about to faint."

She wasn't. And that wasn't a lie. She was hungry, though.

"No, Trent, I'm fine," she grumbled.

He didn't look satisfied. "Okay, I have no idea when Sebby -"

"- the fuck, _Sebby_? He can't allow you -"

"He doesn't. I forgot you weren't another Warbler, Miss Smythe." She rolled her eyes. "So, Seb is no where to be found, but Niff is on their way."

"It's ridiculous that you call them 'Niff'," she claimed.

Trent shrugged. "Well, have you ever seen them apart?" She didn't answer. "Exactly. It's easier to think of them as Niff, since they are always together."

"Okay, right. Something else now. How the hell did you got my number?"

"You ask that now? I've been texting you the whole year - including summer, end last year, middle last -"

"Two school years," Marie-Claire interrupted. "So, how?"

"We stole Sebs phone."

She raised her eyebrows, crossed her arms. "Impressive."

"Ah, we _are_ impressive."

Trent looked up, as did she, since that voice wasn't from the Warbler in front of her. She was staring right in the eyes of Jeff - and, right next to him, Nick was standing. She frowned. "Seriously, Trent, you really asked them to come?"

"I don't lie."

"How do you expect me to survive those -" she gestured towards the grinning boys "- when I already look 'like crap', as you told me subtle?"

Trent actually looked ashamed. Nick and Jeff sat down on opposite sides of her, still grinning.

* * *

"So why the hell is Sebastian still a Warbler?" she wanted to know.

"Once a Warbler, always a Warbler," Jeff pointed out.

"Warble on," Nick agreed, nodding.

"Yeah. Blaine was once a Warbler, and you all send him in surgery, with Sebastian as leader." She wasn't sure why she was asking this. Yes, she was quite interested why Sebastian hadn't been suspended, but he had already told her the story. Yet she was here, already sitting for an hour with the three boys. Marie-Claire rolled her eyes, wondering why she hadn't left yet.

"We all didn't _want_ him in surgery... But you know ..." Trent looked ashamed, now. He was a bit pale.

Nick shot him a supportive look, while Jeff took over. "The slushie was meant for Kurt," he explained. They all had to know she had already heard the story, but perhaps they understood she wanted to hear it from someone else. Not Sebastian. "It wouldn't make a difference for an outsider, but Kurt was shortly a Warbler, then took Blaine away from us, getting our best friend and leader vocalist to compete to us." He looked sad, now. Nick - now sitting next to Jeff on the couch - hugged him, then took over the story.

"And we had heard about the slushies and it seemed like a good ending to the song. We all agreed with Sebastian and put rock salt it in, making the slushie colder." He bit his lip. "And apparently, more dangerous." Jeff put his hand on Nicks shoulder. "Sebastian threw it, took the blame, but actually, we all helped. It wasn't just his idea. He all did it, wanting to let Kurt pay for taking our best friend away from us. In the end, the New Directions thought it was just Sebastian and that stupid brother of yours did nothing to change their opinion of him. He should have told them it was all our idea."

"Until Black and White," Trent reminded Nick.

The brown haired Warbler nodded. "Then, he was just being an ass, not knowing when to give up. We had to hear it from others Sebastian tried to use blackmail to defeat the New Directions. I think he was doing it for us, once again..." He looked at Marie-Claire, who just nodded, though she knew it had also been a call for attention. Their father, Howard, practically ignored Sebastian. Well, it was better than beatings. "And of course, David happened..."

Now they were all silent for a while. David happened. Yes, it had happened.

Trent spoke up. "Sebastian _knew _he had taken it too far. We all felt his guilt. It was then that he tried to quit the Warblers."

Marie-Claire looked up. She hadn't heard that story. Trent shrugged, Nick and Jeff was too tangled up into each other to notice her confusion.

"And then I called you, of course..." Trent said.

Now, the two beside them looked up. Nick was the fist to talk. "Wait, _what_?"

"You _called_... What happened?"

Marie-Claire smiled amused. "You didn't tell them?"

"No one."

"Aha. Trent had decided I should do a brother-sister talk. So I took Sebastian here. He had kept me up to date, and Trent had also told me a part of the story, so I knew just what to say. And we both eventually agreed, so I left and he contacted Blaine, or gay face or just someone, they came, he fixed some things and you guys were going a fine performance at Regionals," Marie-Claire informed the boys about her part in the story.

Jeff and Nick frowned. "We lost," they said in unison.

Marie-Claire shrugged. "Not my fault. The New Directions kicked your asses there. But don't worry, if they keep up this pace, you'll beat them with ease."

"Hell yeah," Jeff agreed. "We've got a new secret weapon."

"Jeff," both Nick and Trent said warningly.

"Guys, I'm not spying," Marie-Claire reminded them. "Trent was the one who got me here in the first place."

"Oh, by the way, you should join our Whats'App group, MC," Jeff told her. Nick nodded enthusiastically.

"You mean the Warblers?" Marie-Claire asked. They all nodded. "I'm a girl, remember? Not allowed at Dalton, let alone the Warblers?"

"You're a special Warbler," Nick decided.

"Ah, like the bird?"

"Pavarotti is dead, Claire," Trent reminded her.

"I've never known him. I mean the new one."

"Yeah, like the new one. Only you're more like a kitty." Jeff smiled fondly at this. Nick chuckled and hugged his friend.

"Okay, time for a song!" Nick jumped up. "Jeff, guitar?"

"In the back."

"Song?"

"I know one."

"Great, let's go."

Even Trent looked surprised. "You can't just go and sing?"

"Lima Bean loves spontaneous concerts..." Jeff told him.

"Especially from hot guys." Nick winked at his blonde friend, who blushed.

Trent and Marie-Claire just looked at each other with disbelieving glances.

* * *

Jeff started, singing softly.

_Everyday feels like a Monday there is,  
No escaping from the heartache now I,  
Wanna put it back together cause it's,  
always better late then never wishing,  
I could be in California,  
I wanna tell ya when I call ya,  
I could've fallen in love,  
I wish I'd fallen in love._

_Out of our minds and out of time,_  
_Wishin' I could be with you,_  
_And to share the view,_  
_We could've fallen in love,_  
_Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh_  
_Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh_

Nick took over while Jeff stood in the background, just playing his guitar. Trent and Marie-Claire sat and listened, along with all the other customers, who - indeed - like the two guys singing.

_Waking up to people talking and it's,  
Getting later every morning then I,  
Realise it's nearly midday and I've,  
Wasted half my life don't throw it away saying,  
Everyday should be a new day,  
To make you smile and find a new way,  
Of falling in love,  
I could've fallen in love._

_Out of our minds and out of time,_  
_Wishing I could be with you,_  
_And to share the view, oh_  
_We could've fallen in love_  
_Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh_  
_Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh_

Now they sang together, their voices mixing, intertwining. They kept looking at each other while singing, ignoring their listeners._  
_

_Oh we could've fallen in love_  
_Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh_  
_Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh_

_Sick of waiting, I can't take it, gotta tell ya_  
_Sick of waiting, I can't take it, gotta tell ya_  
_Sick of waiting, I can't take it, gotta tell ya_  
_Sick of waiting, I can't take it, gotta tell ya_  
_Sick of waiting, I can't take it, gotta tell ya_  
_Sick of waiting, I can't take it, gotta tell ya_

_I can't take another night on my own, so I take a breath and then I pick up the phone she said_  
_Oh Oh Oh_  
_Oh Oh Oh_  
_Oh Oh Oh_  
_Oh Oh Oh_  
_She said_  
_Oh Oh Oh_  
_Oh Oh Oh_  
_Oh Oh Oh_  
_Oh Oh Oh_

_We could've fallen in love_  
_Ooooh,_  
_Oh, we could've fallen in love,_  
_Oh we couldn've fallen in love,_  
_Yeah we could've fallen in love,_  
_Ooooh_  
_Oh we could've fallen in love,_  
_I wish I'd fallen in love_  
_Fallen in love, we could've fallen in love_

The two moved over to each other, smiling. Just when she thought they were actually going to kiss, they simply hugged each other.

"Damn, the sexual frustration between those two," she whispered.

"I know right," Trent agreed. "They affect the whole school."


	4. The Break-Up

It took me really long to post this, I'm sorry. I'm busy with another writing project right now - perhaps some of you know this, it's called NaNoWriMo. If you haven't heard of it and love to write - look it up! It's really fun. Now... Enjoy!  
Oh, by the way. I didn't really want to ask this, **but could you please review**? I really want to know what you think about my writing style and such things. Just curious. Even if you say it sucks, that's okay. It would just be nice to have some comments. Thanks!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

**Song(s) used: **'You've got a friend' - James Taylor

* * *

**The Break-Up**

_"Just because I hate everybody doesn't mean they have to hate me too."_

* * *

Okay. She now understood what really feeling like crap was. Her stomach growled the whole time - despite the free lunch Marley and Jake had been talking about -, she was burning up - there was even some sweat rolling over her forehead - and she had to keep herself from coughing all the time - her lungs were on fire. She had taken a look in the mirror of the girls toilets that morning. Her cheeks were sunken, there were bags under her eyes, her skin was pale and greyish. Her green eyes still had the same 'you can't bring me down'-expression, but her view was slightly blurred and she didn't dare to stand longer than a few minutes on her feet.

Still, though, she had the feeling karma was taking it easy on her. She had been keeping an eye on Blaine. He didn't seem to be too calm and steady - not as he had been claiming he was. Marie-Claire decided that she indeed would never start a relation. It was clearly hard to deal with a boyfriend or a girlfriend longer than an hour away. She saw both Blaine and Brittany fading away. Now the latter had her girl in town, but Blaine seemed even more ill than herself, walking with a mobile phone plastered to his ear, but always a frown on his face.

"Hey, killer!"

He was walking through the hallway, once again roughly putting the phone back in his pocket with a sad expression. She had managed to say the words without coughing - this made her feel quite proud of herself - but now, since Blaine didn't stop walking, she had to keep up with his pace. That was way easier said than done. She wandered forward, waving slightly.

"Blaine."

He slowed down, looked over his shoulder. She saw his frown deepen when he watched her struggling to walk. Within a second, he was standing next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"You're ill," he muttered.

"Great conclusion, gayboy." She rolled her eyes - but that only caused another wave of dizziness.

"Let's sit down somewhere," Blaine said, guiding her towards the choir room. They quietly made their way over to the chairs, where they indeed sat down, as he had said. But she wasn't going to let him talk - there was something she needed to fix here. Her own pathetic problems could wait for a while. Or just forever, since she wasn't going to talk about them.

She took a breath. "Look, you need to go and see Kurt."

Silence.

"I'm serious, Blaine. I overheard your conversation a little while ago, when gay face was wandering around in this fucking school, not knowing where to go with his life. You helped him, send him away. Now, he's found his place in just another big city and he's forgetting the boyfriend who helped him realize where he needed to go. It's my turn now. You need to go to New York. Not permanently - but you need to see Kurt, because this is killing you." Wow. She actually sounded like she had feelings.

"He's not answering any of my -"

"Cut the crap. If he's really your girlfriend, he will be happy to see you. Face him."

"Claire, I don't think I can..."

"Why not?"

"Something happened..."

"What?"

"I was with ..." Blaine broke down, crying.

"Damn..." she whispered, looking at the sobbing boy in front of her. He covered his eyes with his hands, but the tears came through his fingers anyway. He made no sound, but she didn't need any. Yet - instead of hugging and comforting him, like anyone would have done - she moved away a little. "Was it Sebastian?" she sighed.

"What? No!"

"Ah, good, at least I won't have to punch my own brother."

"You should punch me."

"You should go to New York."

"Still?"

"Yeah." She looked him right in the eye. His - quite beautiful, she had to agree with her brother - eyes. They were red and puffy, tears still leaking out of them. A sigh escaped her lips. Again. She wondered why she was doing this. Only because Sam told her to be nice, or just because she liked Blaine? She had to admit the guy was nice. Sebastian had finally picked a good one, though she still didn't fully understand his reasons. Her hand went in the pockets of her jeans. "Here." She handed Blaine the phone, glad she hadn't sold it yet, though she was out of money. "Add you number."

He looked honored. Was she that bad? With a distant look, he scrolled through her contacts. "Why are there Warblers in this?"

"Sebastian is my brother." And he was a Warbler. And Warblers were way too social.

Blaine nodded. "And why are there _only_ Warblers in this? And ... Puck?"

"Since I don't need anyone's number."

"You need mine now?"

"You're fucked up, about to have a break-down with the one who used to comfort you probably opposing you. I think _you_ are the one that needs _my _number, not the other way around," she pointed out harshly. Being nicer than usual didn't mean she suddenly had become a nice, sweet kitty. Nope. She still had some pretty good claws. And teeth. And eyes. With the latter, miracles could happen.

"You need mine too, are you ill?" Blaine didn't wait for an answer. "I can't just leave you ill."

"Hell, of course you can't. Point one - I'm a Smythe. Point two - it's not like I'm your girlfriend. Point three - I hate it when people fuss about me. Blaine, shut the fuck up about me being ill. This will go away in a day." If she treated it well. Which she couldn't. "Go buy a ticket, go to New York. Make yourself feel better, come back laughing as usual. Then I can send my brother your way to teach you that if you cheat on your girlfriend, you do it with him."

Blaine kept silent.

She walked towards the guitars in the corner of the room, tried one. It was tuned. Blaine looked at her with confusion written all over his face. "What? You New Directions guys sing about your pathetic feelings, right? Well, since I'm a loser now too, I should do it right." She could play guitar pretty well - no talent to be found in her, but she was musical and had practiced a long time. Good enough. She might need a few lessons, which she wouldn't get, but right now, she could play a song.

_When you're down and troubled and you need a helping hand_  
_and nothing, whoa, nothing is going right._  
_Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there to brighten up even your darkest nights._

_You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am_  
_I'll come running to see you again._  
_Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call and I'll be there, yeah, yeah,_  
_you've got a friend._

_If the sky above you should turn dark and full of clouds_  
_and that old north wind should begin to blow,_  
_keep your head together and call my name out loud._  
_Soon I will be knocking upon your door._  
_You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am_  
_I'll come running to see you again._  
_Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call and I'll be there._

_Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend? People can be so cold._  
_They'll hurt you and desert you. Well, they'll take your soul if you let them,_  
_oh yeah, but don't you let them._

_You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am_  
_I'll come running to see you again._  
_Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call, Lord, I'll be there, yeah, yeah,_  
_you've got a friend. You've got a friend._  
_Ain't it good to know you've got a friend. Ain't it good to know you've got a friend._  
_Oh, yeah, yeah, you've got a friend._

* * *

She had changed her definition of 'friend'.

Instead of calling no one her friends except for her perverted brother, she now had a few friends, and that actually made her feel quite good. Apart from Blaine, she had also added Trent, Jeff, Nick, Marley and even Puck to the group. People who liked her, could put up with her. And of course - she liked them back. Not that she ever would admit it to them, but they were the only people she might care about when they would lie in the hospital dying. Perhaps.

Still, though, this change did not explain why she was sitting in a cafe while it suddenly was deserted, left behind by the large group of pure loser that just had been sitting on the benches. Only some clothes were left behind and an Asian girl - not Tina, though, but her little slave - came running in, didn't notice Marie-Claire and began to hyperventilate. The brown haired girl watched, amused, while others came inside again. She had no idea what just had happened, but somehow she was once again pulled into a 'relationship on the edge'-conversation.

This time, there were actually two. Marley finally said something to Jake - this was about time, Marie-Claire didn't like how they acted to each other. Marley ignoring her feelings was perhaps right, because she really needed to get rid of her young love, but Jake being as asshole and choosing not only one of the most ugly cheerios around, just annoyed her. The other two who were talking, were no one else than Santana and Brittany, the famous first lesbian couple of McKinley High.

Oh, how she hated the school.

She was actually interested in the conversation, though. Okay, Brittany was exaggerating - a whole damn lot - and Santana hardly said anything, but the Smythe was fascinated by the Latina. She was hot, Marie-Claire had to admit. But she hadn't heard any good comments yet. Well, okay, she agreed with the cheerleader than leaving would be the best idea for the couple, but that was all.

Marie-Claire had been drinking a coffee - yes, she had washed some dishes for it - when she noticed the group of students, including the couples. She slowly raised and walked towards Santana, while Brittany rushed away. "Good job," she heard her voice saying. The look full of thunder was just what she had been expecting. She shrugged. "You're Santana right?"

"And you're Smythe's little sister?" came the response.

"I prefer to be called Marie-Claire."

"Has he ever fucked you?"

Claire raised her eyebrows. "He's gay."

"Well, I'm lesbian and I've fucked guys."

"Not family, I hope," Marie-Claire muttered.

"So, what the fuck do you want from me? I don't see any rock-salt near."

"Yeah, and you just noted that I'm the younger sister, not the gay guy asshole." She crossed her arms.

"True."

"I just wanted to meet the famous bitch of the school," Marie-Claire said. She actually didn't know why she had approached the girl, but it didn't really bother her. She liked a talk with the cheerleader. "The Glee losers have chosen me as the second Santana. I'll see if I take it as insult or compliment." She had to admit that Santana didn't even blink, even though she practically told the girl she had been replaced. "Look, relationships go kind of shitty in this school. Good luck with fixing that ..." Perhaps she shouldn't insult the blonde. "... cheerleader. You must have heard about her Britney-breakdown. You might thank the stripper, too."

She walked away.

* * *

"Why is there a guy crying in Schue's office?" she asked Blaine.

The boy paled. He had told her about what happened in New York. She couldn't say she was surprised, though she had thought Blaine would find a way to fix things with his puppy eyes. Surely those had to be irresistible to gay face, but apparently not. She sighed - she had decided not to go all pussy on Blaine. He needed to get over it himself, yet every time she said something, he seemed to winch. He had been concerned about her, though she felt a bit better. The mother of Marley had given her some more lunch that usual, telling her she was too skinny. If only she could borrow some of the fat of the lunch lady.

Luckily Marley couldn't read minds.

"I'll see you," Blaine said distantly, before walking away.

When she entered the choir room, she was just in time to see Sam hugging the same guy that had been in William Shuesters office. She frowned, but didn't say anything. The others greeted the guy - who looked as if he was constantly on the drugs - excitedly. Even Tina. For the first time, Marie-Claire saw the Asian girl having a kind expression. That faded away quickly, though. She sat down, keeping an eye on the newcomer - though she figured he was an alumni - while getting handed a paper.

His name was Finn, she remembered just before Sam told them. The guy apparently had had some good ideas back in school, because they were all very excited when he told them about Grease. "Guys like it. Girls like it. People like my mum like it. It's about high school, and growing up, and being true to yourself -"

"Oh, hell no, an emotion one..." she muttered, receiving some glances.

"- and most songs rock."

Grease it was.

* * *

She now understood why Santana impressed Sebastian.

If someone was sex on a stick and sang like a dream, it was Santana. She raised her eyebrows, sliding on the ground next to the choir room, being unnoticed by the couple inside. She wondered how many minutes it would take them to break up. Marie-Claire covered her face in her hands. She still felt ill, but now something else was added. Jealously? Emptiness? She just wanted someone. Someone to hold her, someone to comfort her. Someone to kiss her. She plainly wanted someone who loved her.

Brittany ran out of the room, crying.

Santana followed, but she noticed Marie-Claire.

"What the fuck? _Why_ were you listening?!" she screamed suddenly.

Claire winced. She never meant to wince, but she did. Santana didn't shout anymore, though. She lowered herself and put her hand on Marie-Claire's forehead, frowning in concern. "You are way too hot."

"You look quite good yourself," the Smythe responded, shivering. She pulled at her jacket, trying to get warmer, but it didn't help.

"You're ill," Santana concluded.

"No shit..." she muttered.

The Latina rolled her eyes and looked helpless around her. "I'm not going to help, you know. My whole fucking life has just been ruined and you were a witness of it. I should go all Lima Heights on your ass right now." She didn't. She stayed where she was. "Where's Blaine...?" she whispered, but both the girls knew the dark haired guy shouldn't be burdened by anything. "Give me your phone."

"What?"

"Give me your phone."

Marie-Claire felt like crap. At the moment, she saw practically nothing, her head hurt like hell and her whole body ached. She was through. So, without any more protests, she managed to get the iPhone out of her pocket, handing it over to Santana, once again being surprised by an alumni and ex-New Directions members. Puck had been the first one, and this so called bitch shocked her even more. Instead of insulting her, she now helped her - despite saying she wasn't.

"What the fuck - why do you know Puck?" the cheerleader asked.

"I got him out of a closet."

Santana shot her a look.

"Not that one."

"I'll call your perverted brother," Santana decided.

"No." Marie-Claire raised - unsteadily, but she could stand. She put a hand on the iPhone and pulled it away from Santana, who looked at her with a confused face. "I'll be fine," she explained. The Latina just crossed her arms.

"Fucking hell, you won't be fine. Look - maybe you are the new me. Then, I get what you want. No concern, no worries, no one looking after you. Then suddenly, you need someone and that person isn't there. Well, I don't have a brother or sister who I can call. I had Brittany, but not anymore. I've got parents, but they don't want to know who I'm fucking and who not, so that won't work out either. You have got that fucking Smythe - be glad. I suppose he can be a nice brother, sending bullies to the hospital with some rock-salt." Santana huffed, grabbed the phone and dialed a number.

His number.

"Andrew McCarthy. Look, you might be a fucked up asshole, but just show some emotion and get your sister out of this loser school before she faints."

Santana hung up.

"Ah, nice way to voice it," Marie-Claire murmured.

The following time went fast. She dozed off a few times, but every time she opened her eyes and the light pained her, Santana was still around. Claire wondered why the Latina stayed. She had just broken up with her girlfriend and should be heartbroken. She was heartbroken. But perhaps taking care of a total stranger took your thoughts of your sorrow. It didn't matter. She was sitting in the filthy hallway, still leaning to the wall, hardly able to keep her eyes open. She truly felt like crap.

There were voices. Out of nowhere, her brother put his arms around her, lifted her. She felt the warmth of his body against her. Without thinking, she buried her face in his shoulder. Her body ached were he had put his hands - the memory of her father was still visible on her body, though she had managed to keep it covered up from everybody. It wouldn't take Sebastian long to notice.

"Seb..." she whispered. "You were right. She's hot."

"Fucking hell, MC. Go to sleep. You should have told me, bitch."

"Yeah, love you too."


	5. The Role You Were Born To Play

Another chapter. It's longer than the latter two and contains a lot of Warblers and Sebastian, but also Blaine, Tina and Sam. I hope you guys like it!  
Also, thank you so much for reviewing **belleblue13**! Really nice to read, it caused me to go and write more.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

**Song(s) used: **None, sorry... It just didn't fit in this episode.

* * *

**The Role You Were Born To Play**

_"Hey, how's that homelessness working out for you? Give not being homeless a try!"  
_

* * *

"I don't even want to know how many people you fucked in this bed."

She slowly sat up, pulling a hand through her hair while looking at her brother. She still felt ill, but at least less than before. Marie-Claire could actually see something now, while this had been quite hard at first. The dancing black spots had disappeared, her head didn't ache as much and she didn't shiver anymore. Her throat still hurt and she had this pathetic weak feeling, but she decided it could have been worse – she had already experienced that. Also, she had slept in a good bed and could already smell the cup of tea that stood on the desk, furthermore covered by papers, piles of books, pencils and a softly buzzing laptop.

She smiled at the familiar sight. The curtains were in front of the window, but she could smell the fresh air, though she still was quite warm. The light next to the bed was on and a chair was moved from the desk to the bedside, probably to watch her when see was sleeping – not in the creepy Twilight style, but in the brotherly way to take care of someone. She knew Sebastian would have hardly left her alone in this room.

Her brother was now standing in front of the closet, staring into a mirror and pulling onto his tie. She saw him smirking in his reflection. "That's not my bed. You won't want to touch the other, though," he remarked. She glanced quickly at the bed on the opposite side of the room and raised an eyebrow, looking with question written all over her face at her older sibling. He immediately understood her. "Jeff. He usually sleeps in Nicks room anyways."

"In one bed?" she asked disbelievingly. She couldn't get the fact that the two still claimed they were nothing more than friends, even though everyone – not just the Warblers of the guys in Dalton, but even their parents and total strangers – thought they were together.

"No, Nick doesn't have a roommate. The last one left since he got irritated by the fact Jeff managed to sneak in at night," Sebastian explained.

She smiled. "That's five sentences without insulting people or talking about sex. Dalton is doing you good, bro."

He turned around, facing her. "Nick and Jeff in one sentence is sex." She chuckles, but then had to cough. Sebastian came forward and put his hand on her forehead. She rolled her green eyes, but he stared concerned at her. "Damn, you should have told me," he claimed. "Instead, I had to be called by that famous Latina bitch to tell me my sister was lying in a filthy hall of Moron High."

"Well –"

"Shut up. I want to know how you got all that bruises." He looked at her sternly and she immediately sensed it wouldn't help to lie. Both Sebastian and she had their ways to find out the truth and even if they hadn't, it would sooner or later be revealed anyway.

She lowered her glance, bit her lip.

Sebastian grabbed her shoulder, causing her to wince slightly. He softened his grip, but didn't let go. She looked in his eyes and felt the urge to cry – but she wouldn't. They never cried, not since the death of their mother.

"MC, who did this?"

If Blaine and Kurt thought they knew the dangerous side of Sebastian, she would laugh at them, right in their face. The only times her brother was really threatening was if someone was hurting her or commenting on their mother. Now, it was the first one, and even though she hadn't said a word yet, he looked about to kill someone, his face turned dark and the hand he didn't touch her with clenched.

She sighed. "Seb, don't." She looked him in the eye. "Please, don't go and … do anything, okay?" He now seemed only more murderous now she was trying to protect the perpetrator. She licked her lips. "Howard," she then stated simply.

Sebastian abruptly let her go, stared for two seconds disbelievingly in her eyes before getting the assassin poker face, turning around and storming out of the room, leaving the door wide open. She heard his footsteps in the hall.

"Sebastian!" she screamed. "Seb! … _Fucking hell_…" She threw the blankets away, kicked her feet over the side of the bed before standing up unsteadily. Because of the illness and the sudden movement when she hadn't walked around for at least a day, she could hardly stand. Her thoughts were panicked. "Trent! Nick! Jeff! Fucking hell get your asses out here and _stop _him!" she shouted on the top of her lungs.

She heard some doors opening – too many to be only from the guys she called, but she didn't care, since everyone was needed – and before she could take another step, she heard the angry shouting and cursing of her brother on the hallway. She staggered forwards, almost fell but kept herself up her feet using the wall. Jeff came rushing in, grabbed her arm and pulled her along. She half ran next to him, but could hardly stand on her feet. Despite herself, she was grateful for the arm wrapped around her.

"The fuck – I didn't ask you to kidnap me…" she muttered.

"Nice to see you too, MC," Jeff said way too enthusiastic – she wanted to throw up. "Sorry, but Bastian will need someone to convince him."

"A girl who can't stand on her own bloody feet?"

"Kind of, yeah. At least you can curse, that's what we need, I guess," he responded cheeky.

She saw Sebastian being held back by Trent, Nick and a dark haired Warbler she recognized as Thad. They struggled against the long boy, but managed to pull him back, despite the murderous expression on his face and his clenched fists. Jeff whistled.

"How did you get him _that _angry?" he wondered.

"Oh, just tell him your father abuses you," she answered without thinking.

"_What_?!" Jeff exclaimed, but she didn't pay attention to him anymore.

"Hey, fuckface. I wouldn't kill anyone, if I were you. It would be a pain to get your stupid ass out of jail," she remarked. Sebastian turned towards her. "No – don't start about me not telling you all this shit. I could have, I didn't, you would have done the same, that's basically it. Don't judge me and _please _don't give me your 'older brother' crap because I really feel too damn ill for that. If I don't watch it, I will throw up and Jeffy here won't like that, since Nick won't kiss him when he stinks."

Sebastian walked forward, grabbed her arms forcefully, but while Jeff moved back and Trent moved forward, she knew just what to expect. Luckily, since the hug she was pulled in the next second was bone crushing and she just got enough time to take a deep breath.

"Bitch…" he muttered.

"Jerk," she responded with a smile.

Nick moved to Jeff, put an arm around him. "Woo! Touching family moment," the brown haired Warbler grinned, looking at his blonde mate.

He received two deathly glares.

"Way to ruin it, Nicholas…" Trent sighed.

Thad just turned towards the others. "Show's over, guys. Get to your work, don't forget to listen to the Warblers next week and stay away from the Smythes' bad sides." He actually managed to get everyone in their rooms – from the traumatized freshmen to the deeply amused seniors.

"What's going on here?"

Marie-Claire looked up. The hug had broke off, but Sebastian still supported her – she knew that without his strong arm, she would have had trouble standing. Maybe it was time to go back to his room, but now she was staring at the boy who approached them. His face stood annoyed and he was watching the two siblings with even anger in his eyes.

"Hunter," Sebastian greeted the guy, while the other Warblers slowly backed off. Claire raised an eyebrow, not liking the influence only the appearance of the guy had. She studied him for a while, feeling his glaring eyes on her.

"Who is she?" Hunter asked – though it sounded more as a demand.

"Marie-Claire Smythe, asshole," she responded immediately.

He moved forward. "What did you call me?"

"Asshole," she replied. "So, you're the new captain? You're quite a bastard, aren't you?"

"Who said that?" Hunter glared at the other guys, who winced – except for Sebastian. Her brother moved forward as well, wanting to say something, but she pulled him back and cut him off before he part even open his lips.

"Your face," she said smoothly. "So, new captain, you're doing solos?"

"Of course."

"Are you gay?"

He was now confused, quite taken back. "No?"

"Too bad, you didn't pass the test. You know, being a pain in the ass like my brother here isn't enough to become captain or sing. You have to be gay, otherwise you can't. It's Warbler tradition," she explained patiently.

"Hey, I'm not gay…" Nick protested hesitantly.

"Look next to you."

He listened, much to her amusement, and found himself looking at Jeff. The Warbler blushed, lowered his glance.

"Exactly, gay. Now, Hunter, what's with the face?"

He was angry.

"MC, I think that's enough," Sebastian muttered in her ear, sounding very amused. She didn't have to look at his face to know he was grinned widely. "You're supposed to be ill. And you're supposed to like the Warblers."

"Mm…"

"Apologize," Hunter demanded, stepping closer.

She released herself and moved towards the guy, now standing face to face with him. If she leant forward, she could kiss him. Or a head-butt. She preferred the latter. He wasn't exactly her type. "Sorry for comparing you to Sebastian. You're even worse. Now, I'm going to lie in bed and puke my organs out. You're not allowed to join, new guy, though I'm sure Seb wouldn't mind."

She deserved the elbow she received in her side. The guys and she didn't wait for a response of the new captain, instead turning around and walking away. Sebastian was quickly next to her, ready to catch her if it was needed. She decided she didn't wait to embarrass herself and put a hand on his arm for support. He gladly gave her some.

"So … father?" he suddenly asked, his look darkening.

She nodded silently, glancing at the others. Thad, Trent, Nick and Jeff all went with them, looking as though it was expected of them. Sebastian noticed her doubt. They had always been particularly good at reading each others minds.

"They know about mom," he informed her.

To say she was surprised, was an understatement. The pure shock on her face must have been hilarious, since the guys burst out in laughing, Sebastian shaking his head with his trademark smirk on his face. "The fuck, Seb, Dalton is really doing you good."

"About dad," her brother just said.

She sighed. "Well, he finally did what we expected."

The others gasped. Apparently, Sebastian had really told them everything, so about their suspicions too. The siblings had always suspected their father would lose his temper sooner or later. He wasn't the man to keep calm. His sorrow turned into anger turned into violence. They had seen it coming and when Sebastian left, it finally had happened. She felt a shiver going over her spinal cord. Her brother put his arm around her.

"I threatened him," she said blankly, carefully removing all emotion from her voice. "Held a knife under his nose. He went too far. That was a few weeks ago." She shrugged. "Well, I was getting pissed off by the situation, so I packed my bags and left."

Sebastian, despite his anger and concern for his younger sister, rolled his eyes. "Who did you live with all that time?" he wanted to know.

She sighed, having dreaded the question. "Ah, you know…"

"MC."

"Some homeless people. I guess. Around the corner or something."

"Fucking hell, Claire, no wonder you're sick!"

He dropped her ungallantly on the bed. Marie-Claire, who hadn't even noticed they had already entered the room, moaned. "I hate you…" she muttered, putting her legs back under the covers and curling up in the having got cold bed. The girl didn't miss the fond glance of Sebastian, but didn't comment on it. Instead, she focused on the four Warblers standing in the room. "What are _you _doing here?" she groaned.

They grinned at each other. "We need to see if you're alright, of course," Jeff said.

"You could be dying, we wouldn't want that," Nick agreed

Trent laughed. "And we certainly can't leave you here with –"

"Sebastian bloody Smythe," Thad finished.

The siblings looked amused at each other. "What's happening at school, MC?" Seb asked.

"Ah, not much. Blaine is even worse at handling a break-up than a hangover, Tina is still a complete bitch, we have got this guy walking around who is an alumni but doesn't know what to do with his pathetic life – I think you blackmailed him, Seb."

"Ehm… Who was he again?" her brother tried to remember.

"Finn? He wasn't the cheater from last year and also not the one who went out with a teacher. You blackmailed him with … what, a badly created naked picture? You could have done better."

Sebastian silently agreed, not entirely liking that his sister spoke about such things so easily, especially with the other Warblers around. They were looking at him with accusing faces, now hearing about two other victims he had. "Have you got some important lessons?"

"Nope, duh, school's easy at McKinley. Can't I just gender-switch and come here?" she rolled her eyes. "I think everyone is busy with this musical, Grease, but it's not really important. I heard that boy yet a girl lead singer from Vocal Adrenaline wants to play Rizzo, that's about the breaking news I've heard. Even you have more gossip around."

Trent grinned at the others. "We're awesome."

"Claire, go to sleep, I'll send everyone away," Thad suddenly said, noticing the exhaustion on her face.

She shrugged. "Sure, shut up guys and leave me in peace." She pulled the covers over her head, draping herself in the blanket and turning her back on the others, enjoying the soft bed. "Jeff, be nice to Nick tonight. I don't want to be disturbed tonight."

She heard the laughter fading away when darkness overtook her.

* * *

Walking around in McKinley after being a week at Dalton sucked. The public high school had the smell of sweaty teenagers hanging around in the air. Jocks pushed smaller kids into lockers, teachers crowded in their personal rooms not looking at what was happening and Glee club was strangely excited about the upcoming musical. Apparently, Finn had gotten a new guy to sing the lead and he could be joining the club. Also, there was some more rivalry between Marley and Kitty, and between the new guy and Jake.

She was now looking at the new guy. His name was Ryker, he hadn't got the best grades though he always studying hard, and he was a football player. She wasn't quite sure whether she didn't like him or he just didn't draw any attention, nor negative, nor positive. He was laughing with Marley, the two standing close as a couple. Behind them, Jake was watching uncomfortably. Marie-Claire rolled her eyes, knowing where this triangle would end up.

Some fights, some tears. Add a cheerleader, more fights, more tears.

She grabbed her iPhone, turning around. Her fever was completely gone. She felt perfectly fine and finally had a roof above her head again. Without blackmail. Nick and Jeff had decided to room together, what ended up in Sebastian having a bed next to him free, which ended up in him insisting that she should stay with him in the dorm.

They were only breaking about all the rules at Dalton. It would work out. The Warblers were supporting them, Sebastian and she had gathered all the blackmail material from all the people at Dalton in case they needed it. Hunter didn't know. She looked at the screen of her phone, smiling. The Warbler chat was always busy.

_Trent – Claire, everything alright?_

_ Nick – Yeah, like, Sebastian didn't lock you up in a cage? He was so worried._

The chat was the only place Nick and Jeff were separated. The guys had insisted on it, since the exchange of Jeff's phone took the two friends way too long. Everyone had grown irritated and the almost boyfriends had reluctantly agreed on using two phones.

_MC – Guys, it's McKinley. No worries._

_ Jeff – people shove u into lockers_

_ MC – Learn how to text._

_ Nick – No shit with bullies?_

_ MC – No, Nick! Fucking hell, I can take care of myself._

_ Thad – Any updates on ND?_

_ Sebastian – Smooth spy you are, Thad._

_ MC – Shut up. Thad, there is this guy, Ryker, who'll join us in the future._

_ Trent – In the future?_

_ Thad – Huh?_

_ MC – He's the lead in Grease._

_ Nick – What kind of name is Ryker? It sounds ridiculous._

_ Jeff – I like it my mum considered calling me Riker_

_ Sebastian – Congrats Jeff._

_ MC – That was almost a normal text._

_ Nick – Autocorrect._

_ Thad – Of course._

_ Trent – What else?_

She shook her head, amused, and put her phone back into her pocket. The Warblers were always enjoyable. Sebastian had been lucky to go to Dalton – even though he was an asshole, the guys there had accepted him. He had even been compared to Blaine, not in sense of his voice, but more of how he acted. Apparently, the ex-Warbler had been quite a smooth criminal himself when he had come to Dalton.

Marie-Claire sighed. She wished she could go to Dalton. It was already amazing that she was allowed to sleep there. Well, at least by the guys, the school would probably kick her out immediately, but they would never find out and their blackmail material always proved itself to be useful.

"Smythe?" a voice called out.

She turned around, only to be facing the Asian girl she hated. Her eyebrow seemed to raise automatically. The green eyed girl crossed her arms and waited for the other to speak. Tina was obviously considering her words, glancing over her shoulder. Marie-Claire, following her look, noticed another alumni leaning against the lockers, looking at her with concerned eyes. She wondered why everyone always was worried. Didn't they have other things to think about?

"You're okay?" Tina asked.

She was dumbfounded. Okay, she didn't show it, but her eyes could have fallen out of her face. Slowly, she breathed in. "Why wouldn't I?" she responded with a question, keeping her position.

The Asian girl shrugged. "You were quite sick."

"I'm fine now."

"Okay. I'll see you at Glee."

That was very surprising. She didn't say anything, just watched her fellow Glee clubber walking towards the other Asian. A tall guy, silently waiting until Tina came to him. She know realized he hadn't been looking at her with concerned eyes, but at his friend. Claire wondered what was going on between the two of them. She supposed the guy was Mike, so that made him her ex.

Damn. Why had everyone such complicated lives?

"Claire!"

She didn't even have the time to recover from her previous, very unnerving yet perhaps promising, talk. With a deep sigh, she turned towards Blaine. Much to her surprise – what was it with everyone catching her off-guard today? – pulled he her in a hug. It was a short one and he clearly hadn't foreseen his own actions, but she still looked shocked at him.

He smiled painfully. "What? You were suddenly gone. For a week!"

Crap. She wasn't a puppy that had to be kept on a leash.

"I can take care of myself," she shrugged.

"So that's why Santana said she called Sebastian to come and carry you out of school?"

"Not my idea." She still had her arms crossed. Her face had to be quite grumpy looking right now, because she was pissed off by the people asking her how she felt and what happened. Even though only Tina and Blaine had, up until now. "Has something interesting occurred while I was gone?"

"The musical! Too bad you can't play…" Blaine was forcing to sound excited. He obviously was still struggling with his breakup. She wondered if she should have kept it a secret to Sebastian. The guy had some sense of privacy, but her brother could still be pretty persuasive and the ex-Warbler in front of her looked like he couldn't take anything.

"I don't want to," she said. "Anything else?"

"Not really. Where were you?" he turned the conversation to her.

She rolled her eyes, starting to walk towards the choir room, not knowing what else to do. She hated breaks. They forced her to socialize, since the New Directions had this awful tendency to stick together. "Dalton."

"Oh…" She didn't miss the longing look in his eyes. Marie-Claire wondered why he still was at McKinley. He should go back, in her opinion. She would do it, if she was him. Then again, she would have never left if she was him. "A week long? It's not allowed."

"Fuck the rules. We didn't tell anyone."

"And the teacher didn't notice?"

"Do they ever? Dalton has all these tight rules, but no one follows them, not even the teachers. That's what happens if you allow females to teach at an all boy school." She smiled warmly, thinking about the overenthusiastic Warblers.

Blaine looked puzzled at her. "So you _can _smile, like, genuine."

"Of course," she scoffed. "Well, dumb stripper was surprised too. It must be a miracle I can move my lips." She could have answered worse. But somehow, she didn't want to insult the broken boy in front of her. He was still acted like an immature child, crying about some Kurt Hummel who was in New York having the time of his life, yet she didn't want to hurt him.

They walked into the choir room, sat down. "So… Why weren't you home?" Blaine asked.

She sighed. "Some privacy, gay boy."

"Sorry." He said nothing.

She wondered when he had become so vulnerable. "I ran away." And she so trusting.

"What?" His eyes rounded, looking shocked.

She chuckled, despite herself. "My father was pissing me off, so I ran away, but I did something wrong apparently, since I ended up sick. And now I secretly live at Dalton with my older brother."

"What did your father do?"

"Fucking hell, do you want to know everything?"

"I couldn't have been something small. You're not a person to run away." He looked serious.

Of course, he was right. She wasn't the person to run away. She faced her troubles, even though she most of the time did it in a wrong way. But she had never, ever backed off. "Just drop it," she heard herself saying. Pathetic.

"What did he do?"

"Blaine, stop digging asshole." She didn't know why she hadn't a better reply. She just didn't feel like talking about Howard Smythe. He was the man who managed to make her life even more of a living hell than it already was.

"Claire…"

"Fucking hell! Okay, he tried to beat the crap out of my occasionally. So what?" she snapped, standing up and trying to walk out of the choir room. But Blaine grabbed her arm. She flinched – talking about Howard brought up some memories. Somehow, she had expected the fist making her way into her body.

"I'm so, so sorry, Claire…" Once again, the boy pulled her into a hug. She felt her head resting on his shoulder, wondering why she didn't push herself away from him. But it felt kind of nice. The warmth of his body, his steady breathing. She realized he was crying. Her hands unconsciously moved to his back. She embraced the guy, forgetting about her always cold attitude, about her carefully build walls.

Tina and Sam appeared in the doorway. She saw them over Blaine's shoulder. What had started him comforting her, had ended up in her comforting him. Her green eyes crossed those of the two others in the choir room. Marie-Claire slowly pulled away. Blaine pressed his head in her shoulder. She softly stroked his hair with her fingers, looking quite helpless at Tina and Sam. They moved forward, confusion written on their faces.

Welcome to the soft side of a Smythe.

She resisted the urge to say it out loud, instead gestured them with her free hand to come closer, mouthing instructions towards them. Tina nodded – Sam didn't understand a word, of course. The girl said something to the blonde, then turned around and left. The ex-stripper walked towards them.

"Blaine, we're going to take you home," Marie-Claire said to the singer in her arms.

He said nothing. Perhaps embarrassed. Or just too mentally drained to care.

Sam put an arm around Blaine, she let him go, then walked forward and kept the doors open. Like this, they walked slowly outside, trying to avoid as many people as they could. Soon, Tina joined them, having told Shuester that Blaine was ill. They managed to reach the car quite quickly. Tina hesitated. "I…"

"I can bring him home," Sam immediately said, knowing what she was about to tell.

Marie-Claire nodded. "I'll go with them." She wanted to make sure Blaine was alright. Tina shot her a surprised look, but didn't say anything, instead giving Blaine a kiss on his cheek, smiling at Sam and then watching the two helping Blaine into the car. Sam was driver, she sat down next to him, keeping an eye on Blaine.

The ex-Warbler was asleep within two minutes. "He must have been exhausted," she said softly, without thinking.

Sam nodded. "He beats himself up because of Kurt." The worry in his eyes was clear.

"You think this is where he belongs?" she asked, wondering what the hell was wrong with her today. She didn't insult anyone, she had hugged Blaine and know she was asking Sam dumb blonde stereotype Evans for information.

"What's this?"

"McKinley."

"Yeah, of course! We're his friends. Where else would he go?"

She sighed. "Dalton, obviously."

"Ehm… What was that again?" Sam wanted to know, looking confused.

"That private school were he went to, before Kurt dragged his ass out of there."

"Blaine wanted to go himself," Sam claimed, though Marie-Claire didn't believe him. She hadn't met this Kurt – well, she had seen him, but she had never insulted him right into his face – but she already didn't like him. "He shouldn't go back to Dalton. That mean gay boy who tried to hit on him goes to school there." He remained silent for a while. "Oh, you don't know that, do you? There was this arrogant prat who tried to get Blaine, away from Kurt. He stole our ideas, blackmailed Rachel, insulted everyone single one of us and put Blaine in the hospital."

She chuckled.

"What?" Sam exclaimed.

"Shut up, Blaine is sleeping. And the guy you're talking about is my brother, so you'd better be a bit nice about him, or I'll slice you to pieces." Sam looked at her with a blank face. He was trying to remember, but his eyes stood so confused that she helped him out of the deep. "Marie-Claire _Smythe_, Sebastian _Smythe_? You already knew."

"Oh, yeah!" He turned serious. "Keep him away, though. I will punch him in the face if he comes close to Blaine now. He can't take it."

She nodded. "He won't, I already talked to him."

"Does he know you're homeless?"

Her neck ached from turned her head that quickly. "What the fuck? How the hell do _you_ –"

"It's obvious. I was homeless once," Sam explained.

"I'm not homeless."

He looked skeptical.

She wondered how the hell he could look that way. It wasn't like him, as far as she knew. "Seriously, I'm not. Anymore. I live with Sebastian now."

"At Dalton?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Sam shrugged. "If you ever need help…"

"I know."

No, she didn't. She hadn't known Tina had been capable of asking her how she was. She hadn't known Sam would want to help her. She hadn't known Sebastian had actually made friends. She hadn't known Blaine saw her as a good friend. She hadn't known all of it.

But she kind of liked it.


	6. Glease

Another chapters up! Thank you for reviewing **Damselindestress98**, I'm probably going to sneak in a Marie-Claire/Hunter storyline, yes. This chapter... A bit of Warblers, a bit of New Directions, a bit of graduates and a bit of Eli. Yes, I said Eli. So... Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

**Song(s) used: **None again...

* * *

**Glease**

_"Guys like it. Girls like it. People like my mum like it. It's about high school, and growing up, and being true to yourself and most songs rock."_

* * *

She was uncharacteristically unnerved.

Mister Schuester couldn't leave. He practically couldn't. Brittany and Blaine would find ways to kill themselves, Tina would get beaten up because of her bitchy attitude, Jake would get expelled… Everyone would fall in deep, black holes which they couldn't cradle out. Claire knew this counted for her, too.

While everyone was shouting, screaming and cursing around her, she sat silently, keeping an eye on both Blaine and Tina. The former one because she had been watching him with concern for the whole week, the latter because she seriously looked about to explode. The other New Directioners weren't much better off.

She put her fingers against her head, hauled forward. "Well, thank you very much mister 'be a team player' Schuester," she snapped. "You know? That petty talk, about us acting more as a tight group? It doesn't really keep the nice touchy feel about it, now you betrayed us. Way to be a good teacher. Congrats."

There was no reason she was so angry. But she was. Without any more words, she raised, shot some dagger towards Finn and then left the choir room, immediately pulling out her iPhone after. She didn't even think. Resentment and anger just boiled in her and there was no way she was going to go easy on anyone now. Especially not the New Directions.

_MC – Congrats on winning Sectionals guys._

_ Hunter – You admit defeat?_

_ Sebastian – Well thank you._

_ Thad – I don't feel like this is how winning should go._

_ MC – A dopey looking alumni has taken over ND._

_ Sebastian – The one I blackmailed?_

_ MC – Yeah._

_ Hunter – Still got the blackmail?_

_ Thad – Ehm… Guys?_

_ Trent – Not a good idea._

_ Meatbox – im with trent_

_ MC – Blackmail's not needed. Seriously. We will suck._

_ Hunter – Even if you were good, we would be better._

_ MC – Hunter, I'm liking your arrogance more and more._

_ Sebastian – Please don't give him any more…_

_ Thad – He can't get anymore._

_ Trent – You're going to quit?_

She had thought about it the last few minutes. Even though she'd rather die than admitting it to the New Directions, she had taken a liking in the Glee club. It was the only thing that made her education at McKinley a bit worthwhile, even though she had no hopes for the future performances of the singers. But she did like to sit on the uncomfortable chairs, listening to others trying to get a note or to boys fighting. There was this air of suspense always seeming to surround the New Directions, the lowest placed group in the social pyramid.

_ MC – Not sure. If they piss me off, yes._

_ Sebastian – Like a Smythe._

_ Trent – Seb, we have pissed you off thousand times._

_ Thad – You haven't left._

_ Meatbox – 2 bad_

_ Sebastian – Shut the fuck up._

_ Hunter – I am captain now._

_ MC – You're not officially accepted, straight one._

With that remark, she slipped the mobile back into her pocket, digging her hands in together with it. She was afraid to lose the Glee club, she could admit that to herself. In her mind, she was already wondering when the last stand would be. Especially with coach Sylvester as opponent, it would be hard. Let alone the Warblers.

* * *

It wasn't because Schue left, but because of the musical.

Glee club was quiet. The auditorium couldn't be used, there had been drama concerning Wade who now had left the New Directions and Grease, Mister Schuester wasn't in charge anymore and actually, everyone was focusing on the musical. Marie-Claire was the only member who hadn't got a part in it. She wasn't sad, she wouldn't have even auditioned if she hadn't been sick, but now she felt a bit alone.

Every time one of the Warblers dropped her off at McKinley, she longed to jump back in the car and go to Dalton. The guys there had become her brothers in short time. She was the youngest of their tight group and regarded as the little sister, though she could perfectly take care of herself and she usually outwitted most of the Warblers.

Sebastian, of course, could handle her comments. He mirrored her insults smoothly and they always seemed to be fighting, though it was nothing more than simple teasing. Thad and Nick handled themselves quite well against her words, while Trent most of the time ignored them, just as David. Meatbox always became quite silent after one of her remarks, but the broad guy sometimes lifted her off the ground, just to show who was the strongest of them concerning muscles. Jeff was too soft. She hardly insulted him, because she knew he could easily be hurt by her words, even though he didn't show it. Also, if she was too rough on the blonde, she was sure Nick would punch her. She didn't want to risk that.

Hunter was the only one who really had to get used to her. He still was shocked when she opposed him, not sure what to do with a fourteen year old girl who had the vocabulary of a gangster. Claire didn't blame him. She knew that enough teenagers from her age where still busy with the pink princess stuff – hell, Sugar was still busy with that – and she was quite an exception on the rule of vulnerable teens. Then again, she had lost her mother at young age, her brother practically raised her, she had lived in Paris where she wandered around without supervisor and she had been abused by her father.

Those things made you grow up pretty fast.

_I'll pick you up. – Sebastian_

She frowned while reading the message. Usually the guys bickered about who was going to get her from school and it ended up in being either Trent, or Nick and Jeff. The others were quite busy after classes. Especially Sebastian. And Hunter – but he never picked her up. She wondered why her brother would suddenly want to get her. Probably some sibling talk.

Marie-Claire wouldn't put it past Sebastian to take her to their old house, confront their father with a shotgun and then go happily ever after to a gaybar, preferably Scandals.

Ironic name. It fitted the New Directions better, though.

_Don't kill anyone on the way here. – MC_

Hopefully he would get the message.

He would. He knew himself.

"Uhm? Marie-Claire, right?"

She turned around, facing a boy with the most unoriginal haircut ever. "Yes I am. And you are? Justin Bieber wannabe number one million?"

Oh, a softy. He stepped back. "Ryder Lynch," he hesitantly introduced himself. She frowned – hating the fact that she heard his name wrong. She liked to be in charge of the information. "I'm thinking of joining Glee club, and Marley told me you were in it…"

"Well, congrats on that. So, what do you want?"

He looked very uncomfortable. "Ehm… Just sayin' hi. So, how's the singing going?"

"You're doing most of it, Zuko," she responded irritated. "Have you actually got something useful to say or do you just want to waste my time?"

Ryder looked quite shocked. He lowered his glance, the smile faded from his face. She wasn't about to be nice to him, though. Her mood was quite ruined for the day. Even Sebastian wouldn't be able to put up with her too long. She knew her brother would sooner or later drop her somewhere, just to let her cool down. The football player in front of her knew nothing about her though.

"Oh… Well… Is everyone from The New Directions as –"

"Bitchy as me? No, don't worry. Tina comes close, but furthermore no one has the ability to insult someone as I can." She smiled sweetly, then decided she didn't want to have a conversation with Ryder, turned around and walked away.

She raised an eyebrow when she saw Sebastian standing, leaning against a locker while waiting until she was finished. He smirked at her, playfully opening his arms. Marie-Claire didn't hesitate and dived right into him. Her brother stumbled backwards, but laughed softly. She hugged him, then pulled away and looked with confusion in his green eyes.

"What's up with the love?" she asked.

Sebastian grinned. "Can't I even hug my little sister?"

"Oh, like you don't usually call me a bitch."

"Let's forget about that. How are you?"

Claire frowned. "Fine, just another day in this hell hole and, as you heard, the only joy in life has been taken away from me," she said dramatically, while wondering what the hell was wrong with her older brother. He wasn't supposed to act like he cared. They never did – yes, they cared, but they never showed it when not necessary. "What's up?"

"What?" Sebastian wanted to know innocently.

"Why do you suddenly act like we're in a sugary fanfiction of I-don't-know-what pretending to have an awesome brother-sister relation which is too good to be true?" she explained her question. Sebastian smirked, put an arm around her and took her outside, without answering her. She stared at him from the corners of her eyes, not being satisfied with anything less than an answer.

Sebastian knew this. "Lima Bean," he sighed.

* * *

"Skinny white café mocha," she shouted after her brother, even though he could practically dream her order. Her green eyes crossed the Lima Bean, eventually settling on a quiet corner were some tables were free. She walked towards them, ignoring Sam Evans, who was sitting with Brittany, drinking some coffee too. There were always Glee club members around in the place. She hated it – the coffee was good, but she liked to have some privacy.

Sitting down, she overlooked the bar. Sebastian was standing in the cue, flirting with a random guy. There was something up. She knew he wasn't the person to be all sugary about his friends or family. Hell – he hadn't even had that any friends before Dalton, leaving the few he had behind in Paris. She was the same case. They knew each other so well because they were exactly alike. She was the female version of her older brother.

"Coffee. Although you can hardly call yours that," Sebastian announced, putting her cup of damping hot coffee in front of her, sitting down. He looked at his own drink, sunken in his thoughts. She studied her brother for a while, blowing in her coffee – it indeed didn't taste like coffee, but there was some in it anyways. The other Smythe had changed. The brown hair had become longer, the style slightly different. His green eyes had a more adult-like look, especially when he was like now, just quietly thinking instead of hitting on every guy, gay or not, in a radius of a kilometer.

"What's up, Sebby?" she softly questioned.

He looked up, sighing.

And she suddenly realized, copying his sigh. "It's because of Howard…" she whispered defeated, before pausing a little while. "Look, Seb, it wasn't your fault. It was my own choice not to tell you and –"

"You don't even call him 'father' anymore," her brother interrupted quietly. "Hell, Claire, when I left, you called him dad. He wasn't an amazing one, but he was something like a father figure. Then I see you months later and you're sick, homeless and beaten up, all because of the man _I_ left you with. I should have known, should have kept an eye on you. Shouldn't have made that mistake…"

"It's wasn't –"

"Oh, keep saying that. It won't work. I fucked up, big time. I should have at least checked – we both know, knew, how unstable he was. But no, I couldn't help my own sister and instead you had to come and fix _my _fucking troubles because I caused some stupid guy to commit fucking suicide!"

Now they had the attention of others.

She cursed quietly. "Sebastian Smythe, fucking calm down before you're put in jail," she snapped. Sam, she noticed, was about to move towards them, but she gestured him to stay seated. Brittany looked plainly confused. She couldn't blame the blondes – she liked the fact they looked out for her. In a way. It was weird to admit it, even though she always pushed them away. "Look bro, it was my own fucked up idea to keep quiet. You were busy with Dalton and the Warblers, and no one could blame you. You know I would be a bitch enough to do so, but it isn't the case. And Karofsky… We talked about this. We ended the subject, Seb. Don't torn open old wounds. They'll only keep bleeding that way."

Her brother indeed calmed down a bit. He wasn't clutching his coffee anymore – for which she was glad, since she wasn't sure the cup could hold the force of his grip – and breathed slowly, lowering his glance. "MC, you're fourteen. Fucking fourteen, and you talk like an adult."

"We always grew up quicker than others," she said soothingly.

Sebastian nodded thoughtfully. "Still though. You're way too…" His voice ebbed away.

She sighed. "I was forced to be older than my age, Seb. You were too. We can't do much about it anymore. And I'm turning fifteen quickly," she added after a short break.

Her brother smiled. "At the day of Sectionals. Too bad you're going to lose."

"Nah, not sure." The brown haired girl shrugged.

"What, you think the New Directions can beat us?" he wanted to know.

"Nope. You said _I _am going to lose, but I'm probably not, since I'll be cheering for you anyways," she explained.

Sebastian smirked. "Traitor."

"I've always been with the Warblers," she smiled. "They're our friends."

They silently drank their coffee, pondering over the bunch overenthusiastic boys.

* * *

She wondered why she even was backstage. Marie-Claire had no part in the musical whatsoever, she had no reason to walk behind the curtains, just silently looking at all the people walking around nervously.

Well, perhaps she _did _have a reason.

Her eye fell on Santana Lopez, who was sitting in front of a mirror, struggling with her hair. The Smythe slowly approached the bitchy cheerleader, though everything inside her was screaming to just turn away. She didn't want to seem like a pants-pissing girl who couldn't take care of herself. But she owed the lesbian.

"Lopez," she called out.

Santana turned around, raising an eyebrow when she recognized the girl. "Well, if it isn't Smooth Criminals sister," she stated. "What are you doing here?" Marie-Claire didn't miss the look falling over her body, though she wasn't sure if the Latina was checking her out or just making sure she wasn't about to collapse this time.

She would be more comfortable with the first option.

"Couldn't get enough of this loser school?" Claire questioned, coming closer. "Look, I'm not a softy, unlike all those others here. But you had my back recently, kind of saved my ass even though I was perfectly capable of doing that myself. The point is, I owe you."

"Is this a 'thank you'?" Santana asked.

"You can regard it as one," the Smythe hesitantly responded. "Let me help." She offered her hand and Santana, after a short pause, put the hairbrush in it. Wordlessly, Marie-Claire started to brush the dark hair of the sitting girl, careful not to cause any pain and not to miss a single hair. It felt soft in her hands. She caught the eyes of Tina, who stared confused at the two girls, but with a threatening glance from the green eyed one, she walked away, focusing on her costume instead.

"You're not as much an asshole as your brother," Santana decided suddenly.

Claire almost chuckled. "Oh, believe me, your friends think otherwise."

"You don't know what they thought about me."

"Superhot, dreamlike singer and cheerleader with an amazing vocabulary?" Marie-Claire proposed without thinking.

Santana shook her head. "They weren't glad with the latter," she said, ignoring Claires compliments. The other was glad for that.

"Done," Marie-Claire said softly. She stroked the hair and nodded. Santana shook her head a bit, then grinned.

"Thanks MC."

The Smythe blushed. No one even called her MC apart from the Warblers, who had all copied the nickname from Sebastian. Apparently, Santana had decided to shorter her name that way as well. The brown haired girl liked it. Then, she reminded herself of the walls she had carefully build up. She wasn't going to let a cheerleader destroy them. "Good luck Lopez," she said, shutting her emotions down again. It wasn't always easy, but it did make others things less hard.

She didn't want to get hurt again. Her mother, her grandmother, her father. Even Sebastian, since he had left her with her father. She didn't hold a grudge towards him, but he had hurt her by leaving her alone. Marie-Claire had decided not to be such a vulnerable girl again. She liked to be fearless, to be able to take on anyone. The walls she had built weren't like a mask – her uncaring self indeed was her character, she just had more than that, though she didn't show it.

Santana Lopez just nodded, stood up and then walked away, her hair ridiculously looking – but the way it had to be for the first song, _Beauty School Dropout_. Marie-Claire made her way over to the seats. She was simply allowed backstage because of her position in the Glee club. Everyone seemed to think that who was in the New Directions had a role in the musical.

There was something wrong.

She noticed the tortured looks on the face of Blaine. After a few of his glances, she managed to follow them, revealing no one else than gay face Mrs. Kurt Hummel. Her eyebrows curled together immediately. Marie-Claire wondered what the hell the pale skinned boy was doing in McKinley High. He was supposed to live in New York with one Rachel Berry – probably the girl sitting next to him, though she looked nothing like the girl Sebastian had described. The egoistical and drama loving girl her brother told her about was more grown up than she had expected, and – she had to admit it – more good looking.

That didn't matter though.

Marie-Claire focused on Kurt Hummel. Blaine struggling to finish his song – he obviously was distracted by his ex-boyfriend. She wondered why the alumnus had come. Was it only to pain Blaine? She would almost believe it, since the whole idea of coming back was ridiculous. She bit her lip, deciding she had to go backstage when the musical was over. The others were way too focused on their roles and, despite the fact that she did not want to admit it, she liked Blaine and considered him something close to a friend. He needed her.

* * *

"Kurt, I need to talk to you."

_Don't._

"I'm not interested."

_Listen to him._

"I… I never to you about what happened. The guy that I hooked up with… I, I need you to know everything."

_Don't._

"What are you going to tell me? That it wasn't serious? That you only made out? That you didn't care about him?"

_Saw that coming._

"Kurt…"

_Shut up._

"Do you think any of that matters to me? Relationships are about trust. And I don't trust you anymore. It was stupid to come back. Rachel is right. This isn't home anymore."

_Leave, Blaine, don't hurt yourself even more._

* * *

She had to do it. Though she was frankly quite sure the one who made the biggest mistake was no one else that Blaine Anderson, she still needed to protect him. He felt like the brother she never had, the vulnerable one. The younger sibling, even when he was older than her. He was still so easy to be broken.

Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry – her hand on his back, as a sister would do, as she should do right now with Blaine – left, walking outside rapidly, not looking back. The place wasn't their home anymore. They were right, they should have never come back. Marie-Claire knew they wouldn't come back any time soon. Probably never. But she still had to make sure.

A last glance on Blaine. He didn't know she was there, pressed against a locker, having followed the entire conversation between the ex-boyfriends. The black haired homo was about to collapse crying, she knew. But instead of Berry, she didn't walk towards hem, lead him out with a supporting hand. She wasn't the passive type.

Marie-Claire Smythe preferred counterattacks.

She sneaked outside, unseen by anyone. "Gay face!" her voice echoed between the walls of the school. Hummel froze, while Berry looked confused around her. Claire was sure they were searching Sebastian. He was the owner of the nickname, of course, even though she used it too.

It was too dark to truly see them, but they were the only two outside. Hummel and Berry had to be able to see her features, but apparently, they couldn't quite decide who she was. "Sebastian?" Hummel called out, his voice still slightly broken, but with an undertone of anger. She didn't turn back though, even when he now faced her.

She moved closer. "Close. His sister," she revealed. "Look bitch, I need to talk with you. And there's no turning down me, since it isn't a question." Berry seemed about to interfere. "Shut up, Berry, if you know what's good for you. You have nothing to do with this."

"It's okay Rachel," Kurt ensured. He sounded a bit more confident now.

She was impressed. He was tougher than he looked. The female singer slowly turned away, probably glancing devilishly at Marie-Claire, but the latter couldn't see it due the darkness. She instead looked at Hummel.

"So it was Criminal Chipmunk?" he sighed.

"You might want to check your choice of words. It's my brother you're talking about."

"O what, he needs protection? Gotten scared?"

She stepped forward, grabbed his t-shirt while pulling him closer. "Look gay face, I'm not going to discuss my brother with you. Just keep your fucking comments in your mouth, or else I'll beat the shit out of you, both literally and figuratively. Sebastian didn't get into the pants of your ex-boyfriend, take my word on it. Probably he had some nice wet dreams about it, but not in real life. Blaine has sunken far less low than you think."

"I'm not…"

"Shut the fuck up or I'll make you. Mrs. Hummel, mark my words. Blaine has been beating himself up because of you and I'm not yet sure if you're worth it. What I do know, is that you're now hurting him even more. I won't ask you to forgive him, hell, for my part, you never speak to him again. But don't you dare and come around like this again only to torture him, because if you do that one more time, I won't be so nice on you. Next time, I'll bring back all the memories from high school and I'm not talking about the pretty ones."

She breathed heavily, tried to keep herself from slapping Hummel.

"Run back to your friend Snow White. I'm done with you."

She pushed him away roughly, turned around and started to walk away. When she was doing that, though, the most unexpected words even came from the boy behind her.

"Take care of him."

She didn't answer.

* * *

Together with Sam, she had managed to get Blaine home. The ride had been much more comfortable than the time before – they had both silently acknowledged the fact that their teamwork would be needed more often in the same situation, where Blaine was sleeping restless in the back of the car and Marie-Claire and Sam held whispering conversations with each other. After dropping the gay boy at his home, Sam had offered her a ride home, but she had declined, instead asking him to bring her to her brother.

He hadn't even been surprised when they stopped at Scandals.

He had been surprised when she had thanked him and smiled.

Marie-Claire had decided she liked Sam. He could have his dumb moments, but he cared for his friends and could notice certain things quickly. Though she still pondered about his mental wellness. He had told her to be careful in the language of the movie Avatar – she didn't even know the name. Sam would be disappointed.

"MC? What are you doing here?" Sebastian called out. He had a beer in his hand and his hair was carefully gelled. She checked his eyes – he wasn't drunk, perhaps a bit tipsy, but her brother was good at holding his liqueur. "How did you come in?" He ordered a coke for her. Sometimes, he was really good at playing the responsible older sibling.

"Fake ID," she answered. "And a wink at the big guy. He was definitely straight."

"Yeah, they do that on purpose. So gay people don't flirt their way in." Sebastian raised an eyebrow, but she just smirked, grabbed the coke and sipped. "How was the musical?" Her brother wasn't truly interested in that, she knew. The reason why she was at Scandals was what he wanted to know, but he knew her well enough to get that she wouldn't say that unless she felt like it.

"Pretty good, actually," she reluctantly admitted. "Get me a beer next time. This is horrible," she frowned at the coke – how could it taste so badly? She never knew coke could taste that way. She put the glass back on the bar, glaring at the bartender.

"You're fourteen, I can't get you beer," Sebastian whispered.

"Fuck that. I'm inside Scandals. I can get everything I want," she replied.

"Except for the guys." Her brother shrugged.

She smirked. "If you can turn straight guys gay, I can do it the other way 'round."

"Smythe genes."

They bumped their fists.

"Gay face was in Loser High."

Sebastian looked genuinely surprised. "What was she doing? Ruining Blaines life?"

"Pretty close. Nah, actually, right. But she left. After I had a nice talk."

"Good sis."

"Learnt that from you, Sebby."

"Fuck off with Sebby. Some of the Warblers call me like that now," Sebastian complained.

She grinned devilishly. "Yeah, might have to do with me."

"Fuck you. What are you doing here?"

Ah, the question had finally come. "Just informing you."

"And?"

She sighed, glancing through the space. "Looking for someone." The smell of alcohol and sweat filled the clammy air. Music spat out of the boxes, everywhere were people dancing with each other, occasionally leaving towards the bathroom. Somehow, this gay bar was worse that most normal ones. She rolled her eyes.

"Who? I probably know him."

"Yeah, I think you fucked him."

It was Sebastians turn to roll his green eyes. They always acted like he fucked every single walking person – hell, it seemed to be common knowledge. But it wasn't quite true. Yes, Sebastian was far from virgin, but he didn't just fuck every person. He flirted a lot, made out a lot, but didn't always went as far as fucking. He wasn't that much a man whore.

"So, who?"

"Eli."

"The lighthouse guy?"

"Check."

"Ah, he was –"

"Don't. No details," she interrupted her brother. "So, where is he?"

Sebastian smirked, then scanned the dance floor. "There, against the wall." He frowned. "With that other guy." The Smythes both rolled their eyes at the same time, knowing what those words meant. "You might want to wait," the brown haired boy suggested. His sister didn't listen, just started to walk towards the dance floor. "Oh, great…" The Smythe muttered. "Good luck!" he called out to her back.

She just waved, focused on Eli and wandered over to him and his companion. Or hook-up. Probably the latter. Without even giving to two the time to realize she was there, she pulled the guy off Eli, not looking to what they were doing. They looked flabbergasted at her, but she didn't give them the time to respond.

"Stay the fuck away, if you value your life," she told the other guy. He backed off, clearly drunk and impressed by the strength with which the girl pulled him off Eli. She turned towards her victim. "You know life is unfair, right?"

"Who are you?"

"Doesn't matter. I'm furious and dangerous, that's what matters. So, life can be unfair, right?"

"Uhm… Yeah?"

"Well, deal with it," she advised misleadingly calm. "You managed to fuck up the life of a friend of mine, and of one other guy. Also, you gave some others surroundings those two quite some crap. And you all did it without knowing that."

He clearly didn't follow her.

Not important. "Life sucks," she reminded Eli, then clenched her right hand into a fist, throwing a punch in his face without holding back. The guy stumbled backwards, his hands going up to his nose, which had begun to bled.

She didn't even wait for his reaction, just turned around and walked to the bar. "The coldest drink you have, with a hell of a lot ice." The bartender – having seen her actions on the dance floor, just as everyone else in Scandals – just nodded and got her order, giving her a cup with a lot of ice and some liquid. She didn't know what it was. Didn't matter. Everyone was watching her, waiting for the moment she got to Eli.

Her victim already knew what was going to happen. He was familiar with the slushy ritual. She smiled cruelly. The green eyed boy in front of her tried to get away, mumbling her name, but she shrugged.

And threw the cold drink in Sebastians face.


	7. Dynamic Duets

Another chapter. I didn't feel too well - okay, I was just plainly ill - so the ending might not be the best of all. Thank you so much for the reviews **Damselindestress98**, **areuacat**, **RosePotter123**! Great you reviewed, I'm always happy with that!  
Also, question: What about a love interest for Marie-Claire? Or shall I keep it friendship with everyone? Also, if you're in for some romance, what about an OC - I already have one in mind, I kind of like this person - or someone from the show, like Hunter? Please help me out. Thank you!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

**Song(s) used: **'Summer of '69' - Bryan Adams

* * *

**Dynamic Duets**

_"I demand satisfaction in Warbler tradition... Everyone else clear out, I don't want you to see me make a girl cry."_

* * *

_We've got you a surprise. Go to the choir room. – Hunter_

The text had been received in a break between the classes. Marie-Claire raised an eyebrow, studying the message, wondering how Hunter Clarington had gotten her number. One of the Warblers had surely given it to him, probably Nick or Jeff, perhaps Meatbox. She licked her lips, thinking about the surprise he – no, they, the Warblers – could give to her. Hunter directed her towards the choir room. She started to smile slightly when the iPhone in the pockets of her jeans buzzed again.

_Be there before the losers. You don't want to miss their faces. – Sebastian_

His sister shook her head. The two had obviously planned something. She wasn't quite sure what. Of course, she had noticed the ex-captain and current captain of the Warblers had been having meetings, but she hadn't truly thought anything about it. Now, she was mentally slapping herself for not checking up on the guys. Despite the fact she was quite a few years younger than them, she often acted as the caretaker of the Warblers, together with Hunter. Sebastian usually didn't do anything when the guys were causing trouble – she knew he was secretly enjoying the pranks.

It was a wonder she hadn't yet been discovered by anyone. She shook her head, making her way over to the choir room. From the corners of her eye, she could see the Asian assistant of Tina – did that freshman still work for the bitch? – run towards the council of superheroes.

Yes, superheroes.

Apparently, Loser High had even more downfalls than she'd initially thought. The obsession with superheroes was one of the most annoying puberty issues she had even come across. It was utterly irritating when a cape brushed past you and people were acting like they actually were more than just a pathetic teenagers. Sure, she had enjoyed The Avengers too – Natasha Romanoff was just plainly hot – but she didn't immediately have a mental breakdown and her IQ didn't lower to a minus point where she would dress up as a fucking idiot.

Thus, she had avoided the New Directions for a while. This behavior of hers could also find its reason in the fact that Will Shuester had left no one else than Finn 'always seeming to be on drugs' Hudson in charge. She opened the door, walked into the choir room. She had heard running footsteps on the hallway – the bloody 'superheroes' would soon make their entrance. Probably a very dramatic one.

She sat down on a chair in the back of the room, crossed her legs and faced the closet in which the trophies were heard. A grin appeared on her face when she noticed a big empty space. She pressed a hand on her forehead, shook her head softly, silently laughing.

The others went in, looking shocked at the space. "Who leaves a laptop?" Artie asked.

"Someone rich. Someone who wanted to send us a message," Blaine concluded. "I got this."

She felt the urge to hit her forehead again. Did pretending to be a superhero contract your brains? It wouldn't surprise her. Blaine pressed play and the screen showed no one else than Hunter. She sighed, knowing this would be quite a message. Who left that wannabe soldier in charge?

"Your move."

O god, it was even worse than she had initially thought. Without further thinking, she pulled out her phone, ready to send a sarcastic message to the captain of the Warblers. His speech totally fitted the stage of mind the New Directions were in, though – he had made himself the ideal bad guy. She liked that.

_Straight one, could you be even more stereotype bad guy? – MC_

She just had to laugh – but, the others weren't that happy about her reaction.

"What? You think this is funny?" Tina snapped. "Who were you texting? _Sebastian_?!"

Marie-Claire whistled. "Wow, paranoid much," she grinned. The New Directioners glared daggers at her – all of them, even Blaine. "Calm down, what's the problem?" She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, being annoyed by the lack of humor from the Glee club members.

"Those Warblers of you, your _brother_, has … have... They've got our trophy!" Sugar screamed.

Again, she rolled her eyes, meanwhile sighing. "It's nothing serious," she claimed. They all looked at her with dumfounded faces that slowly turned to anger. She groaned, rubbed her temples.

This would take a while.

"Well, Anderson knows," she shrugged. All of them looked at the former Warbler, who immediately started to defend himself. "No, not in that way, dumbasses," she sighed irritated while frowning. "He was a Warbler once – and once a Warbler, always a Warbler. The dorms pull this kind of things all the time. Stealing thinks… It's just a mere prank. Don't go all paranoid because of _this_. Believe me, if the Warblers do this on you, they are comfortable with you guys and probably see some kind of friendship." Those adorable fuck-ups. "Or…"

Everyone snorted, they looked at her. "Or what?"

"Or they want your attention," she revealed, smirking at Blaine, who looked her right in the eye.

"So has spoken our Warbler communication expert," Jesus boy – Joe, he was called – said.

She glared at him and he immediately shut up, making a cross with his fingers – he always had the tendency to do that whenever she was around. The other Glee club members weren't satisfied with her explanation. They actually stormed out of the room, leaving her alone.

_MC – For once, I'll say it. Love you guys._

_ Trent – We already knew that._

_ Nick – Touché._

_ Jeff – Love u 2_

_ Hunter – Will Blaine come?_

_ Meatbox – were awesome_

_ Sebastian – Have you made a pic of their moron faces?_

_ MC – Their faces are like morons the whole time._

_ Jeff – guys be nice_

_ Nick – Smythes, shut up, no joking about morons. I have this niece._

_ Hunter – Duval, don't start the usual 'it's offensive I know a moron'-story._

_ MC – For once I agree with Mr Evil, I'll just go on the Internet for such stories._

_ Thad – You guys should be in class._

_ David – I'm watching you Jeff Sterling!_

_ Jeff – thats creepy_

_ Nick – He really is, I just looked_

_ Thad – David, you're supposed to be helping me._

_ David – Nope, you have a higher reputation._

_ Thad – Does that mean I have to do everything alone?_

_ David – Yes._

_ Thad – No._

_ MC – Fuck off bitches, I'm leaving._

_ Thad – Sure._

_ David – Go to class everyone._

_ Thad – Thanks Dave._

_ David – You're welcome._

* * *

She had hoped the fight would last a little longer. Apparently not, though. Finn Hudson had jumped between them, followed by two of the so called superheroes. She seriously despised them – now sitting in the choir room, wondering why she even was there, between a dressed up Blaine and a dressed up Wheels, she rolled her eyes and sighed.

There was actually nothing she disliked more that Glee club at the moment. The on-going fights between everyone, the very stupid leadership of Finn Hudson who couldn't even look out of his eyes as if he was more than a junkie, the hateful glances of everyone towards her because of her brother and the Warblers…

"We need twelve members to compete," Hudson argued with Tina.

"We _have got _twelve members! She has no reason to be here!" The Asian responded.

"I agree. Only the presence of that fuck-up bitch in this room shows your incapability of a leader," Marie-Claire backed the other Glee club member up. Instead of receiving surprised reactions, though, they looked at her with anger.

"Did I ask for your opinion?" Tina snapped.

She rolled her eyes and made a decision. "You know what? You do need her."

Blaine immediately got the point. "Claire…"

She shut him with one look. "Since I'm out of this Loser club, you're a member short. Guys, welcome the bitch of the bitches here at Moron High to your fucking excuse for a show choir." She smirked, raising, then walked away. She wasn't even surprised no one tried to stop her. So much for teamwork and friendship.

She heard the conversations behind her continuing. It didn't come as much of a surprise when Hudson came up with the most disastrous idea ever and the Glee club disapproved. Blaine walking out of the room surprised her a bit more, but she smirked.

_MC – The Hobbit is on its way._

_ Hunter – Who?_

_ Sebastian – Blaine Anderson._

_ Hunter – Ah, the target._

_ Trent – Hobbit, MC, seriously? You can't call him a Hobbit, he's amazing!_

She rolled her eyes.

_MC – Fanboy._

_MC – Oh, by the way, I'm out of Glee club._

_ Trent – What?! Why?!_

_ MC – They pissed me off._

_ Hunter – About time you left._

_ Sebastian – I'll get you._

_ Hunter – No, you're needed for the plan._

_ Nick – Jeff and I will get you._

_Nick – Oh, his phone is taken by a teacher, by the way._

_ Sebastian – And the pope is catholic._

She laughed, glad that she wouldn't miss the show. If Niff would get her, she would be in time for the performance the Warblers had planned for Blaine. The fanboys.

* * *

"I thought you were captain of the Warblers," Blaine said confused.

When he entered the room, she moved next to Sebastian, watching her friend disappearing into the room. She raised an eyebrow. "Ouch," she remarked, referring to Blaines comment. Sebastian was indeed not anymore the captain, but he didn't like that. "What has he planned? A duet?" she wanted to know.

Sebastian walked towards the door, gestured her to come. "Listen." He opened the door slightly, allowing them to see the two and follow their conversation.

"Allow me to answer the obvious questions. I'm Hunter Clarington, I'm the new captain of the Warblers and I'm not even remotely bi-curious."

She snorted, causing Sebastian to put a hand on our mouth while she chuckled quietly. It was such a Hunter thing to state his sexuality – completely straight, if she had to believe him. He was pretty persistent. "I give you a month," she whispered in Sebastians ear. He smirked. Only when Hunter threw his cat on the floor, she noticed the animal. "Damn, he has a cat? Look, it's walking towards us!" she whispered excitingly.

She wisely ignored Sebastians snort.

"Come kitty, what's your name, sweetheart?" She petted the animal, who purred while stroking her legs. Marie-Claire picked the cat up and was completely taken by him. Her brother watched her amused, but she didn't notice him, only giving attention to the creature, petting him lovingly and giving him soft kisses on his head. She listened to the conversation with one ear, not really comprehending what the two were talking about.

"My turn," Sebastian said.

"You actually studied your lines?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Something like that," Nick nodded. Jeff and Meatbox appeared, too. She smirked, moving aside with the cat in her hands.

"Well, break a leg," she said, deeply amused.

Leaning against the door with the white cat in her arms, she watched Blaine trying to keep himself up against the other Warblers. It didn't work, clearly. When the obviously excited boys – they suddenly turned years younger upon seeing Blaine – offered him a song, he tried to object. He couldn't. The first tunes could be heard and he immediately was lost in the world of singing Dalton guys.

She moved over to Hunter, who was still sitting in the chair, watching Blaine perform with the others. They both had never seen Blaine singing with the Warblers. She knew Clarington had the same feelings as her – awe, joy. It was amazing how the guys synchronized. Blaine instinctively knew what to do, how to play the boys. They moved as one, listening to a single gesture of the ex-Warbler.

"Impressive," Hunter whispered to her.

She understood him – they both just wanted to voice what they saw. "Yeah," she agreed.

"He's amazing…" Hunter shook his head.

She petted the cat in arms. "Not even remotely bi-curious my ass," she told him.

He just chuckled.

Well, that was not 'just'. She had never seen him laugh. Curious, she studied his face, but he immediately raised and moved between the Warblers. Just as Blaine, he called the Warblers to him with a small gesture. But instead of Blaine, this was rehearsed. She frowned, watching her dark haired friend dancing between his former club members. The song was closing in on the ending and she felt a pang in her heart, because she saw from the expression on Blaines face that he wouldn't just stay. There was more needed. Even though she would never understand his feelings for McKinley High, he was attached to the place, in a way.

For her, it was expected when he gave back the blazer. Hunters reaction to refuse it and say it was his, she had also foreseen. There was a sad look in her usually cold eyes when she saw Blaine walking out of the room, the Warblers watching him go with defeat in their faces. She knew that Blaine had seen her, but he had chosen to ignore her. Was it a sign that he was angry with her? She didn't know. Suddenly it became clear to her that she didn't know the short gay as good as she had thought. And all the guys at Dalton – her friends – could be strangers for her too.

She sighed.

Sebastian stared after Blaine, not moving.

Hunter walked towards the trophy, sunken in thoughts.

Jeff and Nick sat silently on the couch.

Trent walked out of the room.

Thad and David shared a conversation through looks.

Meatbox stroked his own blazer softly.

Luke sat down with John and Harry.

The cat in her arms purred, enjoying the pets she gave him. She sat down, buried her face in the soft white fur. No one noticed her – they knew she was there, but all were lost in their own thoughts. There was something about Blaine that made the Warblers different. The former soloist was more than just a legend. He was a friend who betrayed Dalton and even refused a second chance.

But perhaps he would come back.

Hunter moved towards her. He was so close she felt his breath on her cheek. The captain of the Warblers petted the cat in her hands and looked Marie-Claire in the eye. She stared back now. The former military schoolboy still didn't understand how she couldn't be impressed by him. Or at least scared, as many others were.

He didn't know she had seen, felt, much worse.

Other Warblers did. Not all of them. Trent, Thad, Nick and Jeff, David probably too. Those had the faith of Sebastian and with him, also from her. Meatbox was a good candidate, but he liked to talk too much, didn't understand the meaning of secret. Though it wasn't much of a secret now eight people knew about it. Nine – Blaine knew too, apart from the Warblers, her father, brother and herself.

"His name is Mr. Puss," Hunter informed her.

"Very original," she responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You're plan didn't work."

"It will. He can come back," Hunter tried to convince her.

"You'll need help for that." She raised an eyebrow.

"I don't need your help."

Claire snorted. "I can at least help you with the script, Mr Evil. Everything coming out of your donkey mouth was either pure crap, incredibly cheesy or nerve-wracking cliché."

Hunter looked at her with an unimpressed expression, but his eyes told her she had made a goal. "Well, how will you convince him?" he asked.

She smirked. "Okay, blazer was a great idea, singing with the Warblers too. All he needs is a little push." Sebastian closed in on them, as well as Nick and Jeff – having put their arms around each other – and Meatbox. Trent stayed away, Thad and David were talking to the other Warblers. "I'll speak to him," she ensured, glancing at her brother, who grinned. "Duval, Sterling – just _don't_." The two boys had been whispering in each others ears. "I'm not going to dress up as a boy to attend Dalton and the sexual frustration between you two is so bad that even Trent has stopped hitting on you, Nicholas."

"What… How…"

"Huh?"

Nick coughed. "How did you know…"

"… what I was saying?"

"You'll never know," she responded smugly.

* * *

'I'll go speak to Blaine' wasn't intended to end up in 'I'll drag an unconscious boy around'.

It did, though.

Okay, perhaps he wasn't fully unconscious, but he coming very close to it. His body was pressed against hers, his breath moved his brown hair. She could practically feel his heartbeat – which was luckily normal. The boy was leaning heavily on her, his arm hanging uselessly around her neck. She had an arm around his waist and had put her other hand around his wrist, effectively supporting him.

It had all started with her speaking to Blaine, just as she had told the Warblers. He had intentionally not been glad with her support towards the Warblers, but when she explained that the guys truly wanted him back and she thought it was the best for him, he had started to listen. Marie-Claire had mentioned Kurt, had spoke about the tradition of calling him Blaine 'Warbler', had asked if he had felt like a true team ever since joining the New Directions.

Even him being a leader didn't make him feel as a part of the team. She wasn't sure if it all was because of the fact he was broken up about Kurt – who resembled the world for Blaine – or the Warblers had influenced her, but she truly thought Dalton was the best choice for her gel haired friend. He had left after their conversation, telling her he needed time. Later, she had seen him move after Hudson in the choir room.

That was the moment she had seen Ryder Lynn stumbling through the hallway, trying to keep himself on his feet by pressing a hand against the lockers. He had his free hand on his head and had looked incredibly pale.

She wasn't the nicest person in the school, but she had a heart.

So when his legs gave out under him and he speeded toward the ground, she sprinted forwards and managed to keep him up, putting his arm around her neck. The worrisome thing had been that he didn't even acknowledge her. Instead of giving her a glare or at least saying something, he had stared at the ground with dazed eyes.

Marie-Claire had cursed a lot. She always cursed and especially when someone was hanging limb in her arms she tended to think of every curse there was. And she tended to think out loud.

Now she was dragging Ryder towards the nurse office, she especially liked the word 'fuck'.

"Fuck," when she almost let him fall.

"Fuck," when his lips brushed past her neck.

"Fuck," when she kicked a door open – which was more painful than movies wanted to say.

"Fuck," when the nurse office turned out to be empty.

She ungallantly dropped Ryder on a bed. He now seemed a bit more conscious of his surroundings, but she still didn't trust. Spotting fridge, she walked towards it and got a icepack. She wrapped it up in towels and pressed it on Ryders head.

How the huge bump had escaped everyone, she didn't want to know. At least Hudson should have noticed it. Or Marley, since she liked the boy so much. But apparently not, and now Marie-Claire Smythe was left to deal with someone she didn't care about. At all.

"Keep it there," she instructed Ryder, putting his hand on the icepack, then walking away to get another towel. With that, she cleaned the cut on his head. There had poured quite an amount of blood out of the wound, but it had stopped bleeding now and she was quite sure it didn't need stitches. Having covered the wound, she looked at the result, nodding. "Got in a fight?" she then wanted to know, offering him water.

After drinking a glass full, sitting down for a while and having his head taken care of, Ryder seemed conscious enough to tell her all about Marley, Jake and some 'Dynamic Duets'. She wondered if Hudson really was as stupid as his face had told her. He should have known letting to sophomores have a duet would end up in fighting. When they liked the same girl – fuck, what was wrong with the leader of the New Directions?

She was able to beat the crap out of him.

"Thanks," Ryder muttered.

She just shrugged.

"You said you were a bitch."

Ignore. Ignore.

"You aren't."

Surprisingly.

"I think you're just –"

"Don't go Freud on me, or any other psychological thing," she interrupted him. He just looked plainly confused, but she didn't care. "Look, I helped you, you owe me and be sure that I will once tell you to do something for me. But don't make this any bigger than it is." What was it with her and helping people? There had been Marley, Blaine, Puck, now Ryder. She was becoming a softy. "Try to get along with Puckerman junior," she advised.

"Why?"

"Because you two are alike. Seriously, if you went to Dalton, Nick and Jeff would get you together, Trent would find a shipping name or something, Sebastian would make some sex related comments and Hunter would keep you away from each other." She got a confused glance. "That's says a lot," she indicated. "Also, you don't want to get his brother angry."

* * *

The drama at McKinley High would never stop.

You would think after getting beaten up by your dad, realizing your brother could get two persons in a hospital and going to one of the worse places you had ever seen in your life, was all quite a reason to suspect things couldn't get worse.

Well, they could.

Somehow becoming a pussy and getting friends, who have all kinds of problems which leads them to collapse in hallways or break down in classrooms, was quite a problem. Running away from home, getting ill and being picked up from school by your older brother meant trouble, too. Quitting Glee club and getting one of your only friends angry with you because you want for him was just crap.

But, of course, she was the kind of person not to stop at those things. She was also the kind of person to keep her promises. Though she considered herself a bitch – or at least not a very nice person – she kept her word.

Today, she really hated that.

Marie-Claire knew there were many looks pointed towards her. They burned in her back. It wasn't hard to understand they were surprised. Most people watching were either the New Directions or the popular guys and Cheerios, who all knew how uncaring she was. They also all knew about the fights between Ryder and Jake.

What they didn't know, was the progress all three had made.

Very surprisingly – not –, Jake had almost been assaulted by some jocks who wanted revenge on him. Marie-Claire had at her turn got a true surprise, when Ryder was the first one stepping forward, backing up Jake. Puckerman Junior had looked at him with a dumfounded expression on his face, but the Smythe had just smiled. She knew the two would get along, eventually.

Though the jocks were taken back, she saw it coming that one of them would throw a punch anyway. They weren't that afraid of only a slightly weird football player and his half black half white friend. Marie-Claire now sighed, pushed her way through a fight-expecting crowd and stood next to Ryder. She wouldn't have done it any other time, but since she had seen him almost collapsing in the hallway, she was looking out for him.

A bit.

A quick glance at the wound on his head – which he had covered up successfully, since she was hardly able to spot it – learned her that it had become better, though it wasn't yet fully healed. His face was a bit whiter than normal, but that seemed all. He just couldn't afford to get into a fight.

Since when had she become so caring?

"You might want to reconsider beating the crap out of him," she advised the jocks coolly.

Oh dear god. Everyone looked at her as if she was insane. Perhaps she was. "An' why would we wanna do tha', huh?" one of the dudes asked. She didn't even bother to know his name, which said a lot. Too bad he didn't know that.

"Please, learn to talk properly," she said, rolling her eyes. "Want to prove your 'black pride' or something? Seriously, don't, your skin says enough." She wasn't a racist – hell, she was friends with David, you didn't get them much blacker – but she knew exactly what would get the person she was insulting angry. A skin-related comment hit the goal. "To answer your question – well, I would understand if you didn't want to end up being kicked off school with some serious injuries."

The jocks snorted.

"No kidding. Jake here was probably more friends than you will ever have in your life. Those guys surrounding you? Lets see, there's about ten of them? Well, probably one will be gay, and since you are the stereotype bully, you're going to hate on him. Also, those two scrawny kids at the right? They will run away before the first punch. At least three of them will step aside once they see it's serious, and that leaves the rest to point at you as the predator," she analyzed. "Also, I don't think you will be too happy about what I can say about your parents. Your dad is the most interesting subject, your mother has some nice issues too."

His eyes widened while his so called friends looked at him.

"Furthermore – well, I don't think I need to say anything. You can just look at those pathetic wannabe superheroes here. They can do one thing, and that's working together to kick your sorry ass," she smirked, crossing her arms. The dressed up students surrounding her indeed looked quite threatening, if you didn't count Becky in. But everyone knew if you got to Becky, you got to Coach Sylvester, and no one wanted to make her an enemy.

The jocks dripped off.

Slowly, the tense superheroes surrounding her and the two boys spread out too, leaving the Smythe with the two rivals – who were turning into friends. She smiled knowingly, then turned towards Ryder. "You're okay?" As usual, she sounded uncaring, even though she was asking him if he was alright. Smythe genes. The football player nodded, while Jake raised an eyebrow, not understanding the situation. "Okay, Puckerman Junior, give him a ride home. You owe him," she instructed the guy.

"I don't need a ride," Ryder tried to refuse.

She smirked. "What? I got you home yesterday, remember?"

Jake was now plainly confused. "You're a freshman. You can't drive."

"Calling a cab is the same as giving someone a ride," she shrugged. "Look baby face, you're good at fighting, obviously, since you managed to get this rough tough guy here in the nurse office, brought there by a freshmen girl. But now he had your back and you should at least try to repay your depth."

"And why would you help me?" Jake now asked. "You even more of an uncaring snob than Kitty."

She shook her head. "She wouldn't like those words coming out of your mouth, baby face. Lets just say I had a nice talk with your brother once. Now, bring him home." Marie-Claire turned around, walking towards the exit of the cafeteria. When looking over her shoulder, she saw that Jake had approached Ryder and was talking to him. After a few minutes, the boys walked out of the room together. She smiled, pulling out her phone.

_ Your brother will be fine. – MC_

* * *

_ I dont now what those warblers said to Blaine or what u said, but its bullshit – Sam_

Great. What was it with people getting her phone number and sending her poorly written texts? At the beginning of the school year, there only were Warblers in her contact list, but now Blaine and Puck were in it, and Santana – who probably added her number after calling Sebastian that time Claire was sick – and Hunter - he was a Warbler, but new this year – and now even Sam was in the list.

She sighed, wanting to text back, but running footsteps on the hallway caught her attention. Usually, she wasn't surprised by this, since the Warblers always ran around. This time, though, she was Hunter and Sebastian passing by the room she was in. Without thinking about teachers – hell, this was Dalton, there were hardly any teachers around – she raced after the two boys.

"Fuck!" she heard Hunters frustrated scream coming out of the choir room.

Sebastian didn't respond, but she heard them walking on further. Without any hesitation, she walked into the room, that revealed the two Warblers staring at a partly empty closet. Behind the glass didn't stand the trophy anymore, but instead laid a blazer with a note. Hunter and Sebastian didn't even need to look at each other, just acted in unison. They ran outside, on the balcony. She followed them quickly.

The two weren't surprised when she appeared next to them, looking at the superheroes running away. A huge grin suddenly showed on her face, she felt an unexpected joy and she shouted out. "Wooo! Go killer! Go stripper!"

Yes. She could have thought of a better call.

The looks of Hunter and Sebastian were worth it though. They turned their pissed glances now towards her and she immediately knew it was time to run. Even though the two Warbler soloists considered themselves the most mature of the Warblers, they had been affected by the bunch children. And now was one of the times this showed.

She sprinted away, the two boys on her heels.

"Nick, Jeff!" she called out. "Help!" The two boys turned around, looking with shocked faces at her and her followers. Then, they ran as well. "Oh, yeah, great friends you are!" Trent appeared on the doorway, giggling like a girl at the sight of the teenagers. Thad bravely threw himself in front of Marie-Claire – as the handsome hero that he always tried to be – but ended up laying on the ground. Meatbox and Flint actually did more – they managed to give Nick and Jeff a cover, so the boys could collect some nerve guns.

Never underestimate Warblers.

Within a few minutes, the pissed off mood in the dorms had changed in a fully heated battle between – well, everybody and nobody. Marie-Claire was being attacked by Hunter and Sebastian mostly, but somehow Trent and David had chosen her as a victim as well. Luckily, Meatbox and Flint were the heroes of everyone, shooting randomly at people while dragging them out of danger. Thad kept laying on the ground, softly praying until Nick and Jeff both dived on him.

"Wes! Wes! Where are you when I need you?" the tortured dark haired Warbler cried out, while David shouted something back like 'Harvard, bastard!'. Nick and Jeff proceeded to tickle Thad until Trent and James got pity and pulled them off the senior. Meatbox and Flint were now targeting Hunter, grabbing the chance to get revenge for his comments on their dancing. Sebastian was nowhere to be seen.

That wasn't a good sign.

She looked around, but before she could move, she felt her brothers arms around her, lifting her into the air and dragging her to the choir room. His whispered insults in her ear were familiar. She grinned while struggling to get free. Of course, that was quite hard. He put her on the couch. The Warblers sneaked in, laughing at her.

"This is mean," she decided, before wanting to hit herself for saying 'mean'. 'Fucked up' was a word she'd rather used. Then again, she didn't want to damage the innocent schoolboys even more. She grinned while the others kept laughing. "Okay, that's enough. It's unfair, you've got gender advantage."

"What?!" Trent cried out. Everyone looked at him. He blushed. "Ehm, you're not feministic?"

She raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"My whole life has been a lie!" the sassy Warbler shouted dramatically.

Sebastian, Hunter and she rolled their eyes, while Niff approached Trent, putting their arms around him. It was cozy in the choir room. The Warblers were talking, Meatbox and David jumped on the couch beside her, Trent hummed a song. Some guys were laughing in the background, Sebastian and Hunter were discussing something. It was warm in the room and the space was filled with the sound of talks, laughter and music.

Of course, any other person would have sat back enjoying the joyful peace.

Well, she was a honorary Warbler. She wasn't about to sit back. On the contrary – she jumped up, making all the guys looking at her. A devilish grin appeared on her face – one Sebastian knew. But before he could say anything, she started.

_I got my first real six-string  
Bought it at the five-and-dime  
Played it till my fingers bled  
Was the summer of '69_

_Me and some guys from school_  
_Had a band and we tried real hard_  
_Jimmy quit, Jody got married_  
_Shoulda known, we'd never get far_

Sebastian shrugged, then came forward, put an arm around her and joined her.

_Oh when I look back now  
That summer seemed to last forever  
And if I had the choice  
Yeah, I'd always want to be there_

It was a true Warbler tradition. Singing a song together, harmonizing perfectly. The guys slowly started to dance on the music, eventually loosening up. Then, all their voices joined.

_Those were the best days of my life_

_Ain't no use in complainin'_  
_When you got a job to do_  
_Spent my evenings down at the drive-in_  
_And that's when I met you_

Nick and Jeff grinned at each other, sang the next part.

_Standin' on your mama's porch  
You told me that you'd wait forever  
Oh and when you held my hand  
I knew that it was now or never_

And all together, as if they had studied it.

_Those were the best days of my life_

_Oh yeah_  
_Back in the summer of '69_  
_Ohhh_

Hunter now took his place as captain and soloist. Marie-Claire eyed him expectantly, about to her him sing for the first time. She wasn't disappointed.

_Man we were killin' time  
We were young and restless  
We needed to unwind  
I guess nothin' can last forever, forever, no_

Sebastian took over, confidently while the boys around him danced wildly. His sister was being thrown around by Meatbox, Trent and Thad had their private dance in the back, David ran through the room. Hunter, Flint and another couple of Warblers made some somersaults in the air, Nick and Jeff swirled around each other.

_And now the times are changin'  
Look at everything that's come and gone  
Sometimes when I play that old six-string  
Think about you wonder what went wrong_

All together, once again, looking at each other, their faces glowing.

_Standin' on your mama's porch  
You told me it would last forever  
Oh and when you held my hand  
I knew that it was now or never  
Those were the best days of my life_

_Oh yeah_  
_Back in the summer of '69_  
_Un-huh_  
_It was the summer of '69, oh yeah_  
_Me and my baby in '69, oh_

She ended the song perfectly. Though she wasn't the strongest singer and her voice wasn't exactly suited for a cover of Brian Adams, she had succeeded in what she had wanted to do. The boys around her were slightly out of breath, but they all shared the same expression.

Hunter and she crossed looks. They understood each other in an instant. "Guys." They all looked at her. "I like the somersaults, you're going to keep those. Pull a bit more on the blazers, the audience loves that. Hunter – okay, we still have to turn you gay, but you can have a solo."

They all smiled, looking at her silently. She looked at Sebastian. He grinned, she grinned back, then shouted both their thoughts out loud.

"We are going to rock at Sectionals!"


	8. Thanksgiving

Hi guys! Long time no see. Yeah, that's kind of my fault - or better, my Internets fault. (Always blame it one the Internet.) No, seriously, it kind of broke down and I had my story standing on this site, so I couldn't go on. But now I saved it on my computer - praying my ever loving siblings won't find out 'cause I'm never going to hear the end of that - and I wrote you a new chapter.  
Which sucks.  
Big time.  
Let's say I'm horrible at writing angst, and the chapter... Well, yeah, no spoilers. Just read.  
Thanks for reviewing **Alex B. Goode **(and welcome to you), **Damselindestress98 **(can I call you my fan, and oh, yes, I'll definitely think about her and Hunter - next chapter is for you!), **Rosepotter123 **(I'm so glad you like MC - OC's usually really irritate me, so I'm glad that's not the case with you) and of course **AceinWonderLand** (I have read your stories, actually - there might be some Huntbastian, though some Hunclaire too).

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

**Song(s) used: **None again. It's a bit useless... But next chapter, I'm quite sure there will be a song. :-)

* * *

**Thanksgiving**

_"You can't change your past. But you can let go and start your future."_

* * *

Once people graduated and then were reunited with their old classmates – the same who once bullied them, got them pregnant, slapped them, ignored them and thousand others things like that – they tended to forget about the past and act like one big happy family.

The alumni from McKinley High were no different.

Singing a cheesy song together, making some half joking half serious comments, waving a bit awkwardly, embracing each other and finally joining the group hug – very predictable. Of course, there were other sides to their actions. The singing was actually quite good, the commenting was enjoyable enough, the waving was done by the most hottest girls she had ever seen and thus got a pass, the embracing and group hugging was a greeting.

Marie-Claire wouldn't go all Smythe about it.

The auditorium had become one of the only places where she could quietly sit and think. In Dalton, there was nowhere to find peace – the all boys school was always filled with happy, overenthusiastic schoolboys jumping around the place, never shutting their mouths. Even in the room of Sebastian the Warblers tended to break in. Every public place was – well, public, so that immediately was crossed off the list. McKinley Highs only option had first seemed the library, but the was no silence to find there. It was even worse than at Dalton, and she was talking about the place where the Warblers could burst into a song, dance on furniture, break things and the teachers would still enjoy the performance.

She'd settled for the auditorium. Of course, there were occasions when the space wasn't fit to be her mind palace – during auditions or random Glee club performances – but it usually did the job. Today, she had been glad she had been there, resting. Marie-Claire's days had been exhausting. Helping the Warblers to a Sectionals win was quite hard and due a water balloon fight between some Warblers the teachers patrolled more than usual, so she had to be careful to keep hiding. Even with her tiredness, she was glad that she hadn't missed the performance from the alumni.

Slowly, though, she got out of the auditorium – she had this feeling her habit of spying on people was becoming a bit too frequent. It certainly had its advantages, but since there was quite some lack of privacy for the others, she tried to keep it in control. The brown haired girl wandered through the hallways without any destination in mind. Sebastian was the one picked her up today, which meant she had to stay longer at McKinley High, since he had lacrosse training.

"MC!"

The voice was familiar. She turned around with a knowing smile, instantly congratulating herself on getting the person right. No one else than cheerleader bitch Santana Lopez came walking towards her, together with the bunch alumni's. The movements of the dark haired Latina were easy to read. Claire hesitated for a second. She _never _hugged. Okay, she was hugged – the Warblers and Blaine, technically a Warbler too, due the 'once a Warbler, always a Warbler' rule, hugged her. But no one else.

The Smythe stepped forward and embraced the cheerleader, smiling slightly.

"Hi," she greeted her casually. The two had grown to be something alike to friends. It obviously had started when Santana helped her when she was ill and it escalated a bit more when Marie-Claire helped the Latina with her hair for Grease, but it really was confirmed after she had seen the phone number in her contact list. They had started to send each other occasional texts, sometimes with photo's, other times with random comments. Befriending on Facebook was a next step, then came hugging each other in McKinley Highs hallways.

"You look tired," Santana noticed instantly.

She shrugged. "Warblers. They're a bunch children and than ten times worse."

"Warblers?" the pretty blonde asked. Marie-Claire recognized her as Quinn, the cheerleader who had all the boys falling for her and a legend amongst the newbie's from Coach Sylvester. "As in, the Warblers, the New Directions mortal enemies?"

"Very nice way of voicing it," Claire smirked. "Yeah, those."

"Guys, this is Marie-Claire Smythe," Santana introduced her.

Ah, the reactions to those few words.

Puck – already having moved over to her – hugged her quite quickly, probably still in the whole reunion mood. Finn just looked very confused – at least, she thought he was confused, but his facial expression didn't differ much from its usual state – between her, Santana and Puck. Quinn looked a bit dismayed, but apparently gave her a chance, smiling at her. Mercedes raised an eyebrow and put her hands in her side and Mike followed the reactions like herself, without any particular expression on his face.

"Wait, how do you all knew each other?" Hudson finally asked.

Marie-Claire smirked. "Long stories – both of them. Lets just say Puckerman knocked me down on the floor, I got him crying, then we drank coffee. Lopez – well, I was eavesdropping, I was ill, I was being picked up by my bro, she played a role in that."

"Your brother is Sebastian?" Mike wanted to know for certain.

"He left quite an impression," she noticed, rolling her eyes. "Everyone remembers him."

"He put one of our friends in hospital. You don't forget that easily," Mercedes pointed out.

Santana sighed, already knowing where this was going, just as all of the others. "Look, MC, we're going to Breadstix. Want to join us?" she offered.

The others were quite angry with that offer. "No way," Mercedes shook her head. "Look, you might not be your brother, but –"

"Calm down, jeez…" she groaned. "Sorry, San, got other plans. My fantastic brother is about to show his face around here. I'm going to make sure he gets out of here alive, then we're probably going to catch a coffee at Lima Bean," she explained.

Santana nodded. "Right. I'll keep these guys away from Smooth Criminals pretty face. Take care of yourself, MC. I see you around." She stepped forward and the girls hugged again. The Smythe smiled and said goodbye to the others, watching them leave.

"Very touching."

"Seb."

"MC."

"How long were you here?"

"Since Sha-Queer-Ah."

"Spy."

"Nope – no need to."

"I spy for you guys?"

"Check."

"Come on, coffee."

* * *

The downsides of throwing a slushy in the face of your lovingly brother was that you never trusted him to give you a drink the normal way after. It had been worth it, though. After the cold liquid in his face, Sebastian had chased her out of Scandals, effectively removing her out of Eli's eyesight, knowing that a guy wouldn't take it so well when he was punched in the face, seemingly without reason. As soon as they were outside, the siblings had started a wild chase through some dark alleys, past some homeless and junkies. Surprisingly, they hadn't been killed, so eventually they decided not to push fate and head back to Dalton.

At least the Warblers had enjoyed the story why Sebastian had come home with a face on thunder, furious eyes and wet hair. It had ended up in Marie-Claire being carried to the choir room and being serenaded, though there was nothing new to that.

She took the coffee from her brother, smiled slightly and looked expectantly at him when he slid down the couch, concentrating on his drink. When he pulled the green eyed distant look, she knew there was something he needed to tell her. "Seb?"

"Father called me." He looked straight at her.

She swallowed. "So?" she wanted to know.

"He wanted to know if I have heard from you," Sebastian explained.

"And have you?" She took a sib from her coffee and burned her tongue.

He put the coffee down and looked at his hands. "Yes."

She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You're okay, you have a roof above your head, you don't want anything to do with father."

"Fair enough."

They remained silent for a while, drinking their coffee.

"He wants to see you."

She lounged forward, almost spitting coffee out, then looked with wide eyes at her brother. "He – _what_?" she whispered sharply. "The fucking bastard. Beats and kicks me like I'm a punching bag and then he wants me back when I once show him I'm a person too. Fucking stupid bloody damn –"

"I told him I agree."

She shut her mouth immediately.

Sebastian tried to look at her, she knew. But she avoided his look, instead focused on the coffee in her hand. Damp came off the cup. She closed her eyes, pressed her right hand against her forehead, but the touch was warm and not cooling, as she longed for.

"What did you tell him?" she asked, despite having perfectly understood his words.

"I told him I agree," Sebastian repeated.

She raised, leaving her coffee, walking away.

"Is this how you do it? You face everyone, everything. You do it for yourself, sometimes for others. But once it comes down to just you and your family, you run?" he called after her.

She stopped, being fully aware of the whole Lima Bean listening. Her hands clenched to fists, she spoke up. "You know what the funny thing about family is? You're bonded. Friends, you choose yourself, you let down yourself. They are free from you and once you abandon them, there is nothing concrete to remind them. But family? It's ironic. Whether you want it or not, you are bonded with them. And most of the time, that's exactly what you don't want. Once you leave them, you'll still be bonded. You have the same blood flowing through your body. And you know what? I'm done with Howard. He is family, we have the same blood, we are bonded. But once I make the choice to leave him, it only hits him. And it hits him hard. He might have the name to be my fucking father, but he'll never be anything. So don't you make him something."

"Why do you run from me?"

She turned around now. "Listen, Seb." Seb – she slipped. His nickname, the shorter version of Sebastian. She didn't want to leave him, she just didn't know. She felt betrayed, she wanted him to feel betrayed. But words were treacherous, and they had left her. Only using his nickname was admitting weakness. "I don't want to see him, have a nice pity party. When I see him, I won't wince, or cry, or run, or do any of those pathetic things. I will kick him in the balls, smash some teeth out of his filthy mouth and then turn away without caring."

"I won't ask you to do anything else. What do you think? I want to do that as badly as you."

"So why don't you? I won't stop you."

"It won't fix anything."

"And since when did you start caring about that? I just want to see him in pain, that's all."

"I'm supposed to care about it. You're being irrational and ignorant."

"Oh, what, suddenly I'm your little sister who can't take care of herself?"

"You _are_ my little sister!"

"And I have taken care of myself my whole life! You don't suddenly need to protect me from all the dangers in the world when I already know them, when I already have faced them! Hell, have you been beaten up by Howard? No. Have you been send to Mc-fucking-Kinley High to study with some morons? No."

"I'm goddamn the closest with as a parent –"

"You're my brother, bastard!"

"Cut the crap, MC, it's my job to take care of you. You're a teenager, you should be acting like one."

"I'm doing a pretty damn good job right now, am I not?"

"Yes! And you just have to realize we're fucking wanting the same!"

"I – what?"

"You want to beat up our father, I want to beat up our father. Any difference?"

"You just wasted all that time telling me – ah, I don't even know what."

"You didn't listen."

"Not really."

"You didn't remember."

"Exactly."

"But we're on the same line?"

"How?"

"Beating up dad, you acting as a teenager, being irresponsible –"

"Wasn't that the point, didn't I have to be …"

"…"

"…"  
"I don't really get our fight anymore."

"Me neither."

"Well, at least the tension has faded. Lets go to Dalton."

The siblings turned towards the last speaker. Trent came walking toward them, together with Meatbox and Flint. Nick and Jeff were busy in the back, trying to – well, practically rape a jukebox. Thad and David were retrieving the coffees of the Smythes, while brother and sister looked around, not even having realized they had moved over to the middle of the Lima Bean in all their fury.

"You needed to let go some tension," Flint added unnecessary. He patted Sebastian on the back, smiling slightly. "We were almost getting worried, you pacing around the whole time, figuring what to do with your little sister."

"It didn't help one of the teachers found out," Meatbox added.

Marie-Claire groaned. "What? You could have told me."

"It's dealt with," David announced.

Thad nodded. "Sebastian did some blackmail work."

"Basically showing proof of our teacher –"

"- sleeping with someone –"

"- who definitely isn't her husband –"

"- though I'm sure that proof is fake –"

"- it did work."

Niff had joined the party.

Sebastian and Marie-Claire looked at each other, desperate to find something that wasn't abnormal in the situation. The latter tried to put things in an order. First coffee, then a useless fight that ended up in the Warblers saying Sebastian needed to fight. With other words…

"Total waste of time, this," she concluded.

"Yes. To the cars," Sebastian agreed.

Jeff chuckled. "Nice, sounds like some kind of movie."

"To the ships! Or something like that," Nick nodded.

"Or 'to the horses'," Jeff added.

"Shut up!" David and Thad exclaimed, while Trent just rolled his eyes.

The group headed outside. There was a large car waiting in front of the door. Sebastian rolled his eyes and walked towards his own car, Marie-Claire following him – but not without looking curiously in the waiting car. Inside sat Hunter, drumming on the steering wheel. He saw her watching and smiled smugly. She just raised her eyebrows – though she didn't show it, she was impressed. He never seemed the kind of person who cared, but perhaps he was more like Sebastian than she thought. Actually being a human-being, that is.

Most of the guys slipped in the car of Hunter, while Nick and Jeff followed Marie-Claire towards Sebastians car. Walking between the two boys, seeing the guys entering the car of their captain, hearing her brother opening a door for her, she suddenly felt happy. It wouldn't matter whether she faced her father or not, her departing from home had resulted in getting friends. And because of Howard she had left home. Perhaps he had done something right.

In his own, twisted way.

* * *

Sectionals was closing in.

Everyday, the Warblers practiced, and she watching, sometimes commenting on their moves, other days just sitting quietly, feeling the nervous glances of 'her' guys on her, while she left them in agony, not knowing if they did it right. She was the audience – and the only thing they needed to amuse was the audience, so she was their queen.

Hunter did not like that.

The guys listened better to the fourteen – almost fifteen – year old girl than to him, the captain of the Warblers. Though this was quite amusing for Marie-Claire, Hunter wasn't that happy. And this was exactly what Sebastian and his sister liked. They were fully aware of the irritations of the former military schoolboy and enjoyed it – Sebastian because he still held quite a grudge against Hunter for stealing his position, Marie-Claire because Hunter still looked down on her.

There were good and bad days. Sometimes, when David and Thad didn't listen, when Trent couldn't synchronize with the others, when Nick hadn't slept enough or when Jeff – Jeff of all people – failed to learn a move, Sebastian and Hunter considered blackmail. But it was Claire who told them each time that they would be fine, that blackmail wouldn't be needed. She had broken her bonds with the New Directions – they were practically avoiding her, believing her to be a spy – but she still didn't want to betray them that much. There was something in her that had grown fond of the show choir, though she didn't want to admit it.

Three.

Two.

One.

Sectionals.

Sectionals was when all hell broke loose.

* * *

**A composition of thoughts**

_Whistle, Live while you're young. Two songs about sex sang by guys in blazer. Can it be more fitting?_

_Good, Hunter in the front – wait, why did Jeff switch from place? Okay, it could work._

_I hate this song._

_God, Hunter, look less smug. And don't stare at me._

_Pull the blazer, pull the blazer, pull – yes! Nice. Everyone loves blazers._

_Back flip, back flip, come on, do it right… Nice! Crowd goes crazy._

_I hate this song._

_Ending, close to each other, moving back in position – good._

_One Direction. Why did it have to be One Direction?_

_Go Sebby._

_How can five teenage boys make a song about sex?_

_Wait. Sebastian could do that._

_Weird moves. Somehow fitting – way to go Bas._

_Jeff, smile. Smile, Jeff._

_Holy crap, did Bas try to copy Blaine with his hair? Too much. I have to steal his gel._

_Enthusiastic Warblers. Energetic. The judges will love this._

_I hate this song._

_Good, Nick made Jeff smile._

_They should have chosen songs I like._

_Active dancing. In a row. Bit of spinning around. Smiling. Waving ties and blazers. Everything works._

_Wait, Hunter probably choose these songs to piss me off._

_Niff, your glances during this song reveal your not-so-secret relationship._

_Ending._

_Smile, guys._

_Good._

_Nice, everyone is blow away. Good job Warblers._

_Oh, yes, applause. Standing ovation. Awesome._

* * *

She felt secondhand embarrassment during the performance of the New Directions.

Perhaps it was because of the arrogant chuckling of Hunter or the smirk of Sebastian. Or just because David, Thad and Trent didn't know how to respond, or because of the uncontrolled laughing of Flint, or the grin of Meatbox behind his hand, or the lack of interest from Nick. Or because of Jeff, who genuinely liked the performance.

Yes, it was probably because of Jeff.

She was rudely shaken out of her mind when the audience gasped. Some people shrieked.

Her green eyes immediately scanned the stage – only to find out that whatever was wrong and with whomever, she couldn't know. The New Directions formed a circle around the person. Desperately, she tried to recognize something of the fallen. It wasn't one of the guys – right? No, wait, where were Jake and Ryder? She glanced at the alumni in the box in front of them. They moved towards the stage. She should move to.

On automatic pilot, she raised.

Sebastian looked at her, tried to stop her, but Trent immediately grabbed her brother and pulled him back, whispering something in his ear. The Smythe let his younger sister pass. Jeff followed her, gave her some information, but she didn't know what. Why was everything suddenly so blurred?

A hand grabbed her around her wrist.

She turned around. Hunter.

His eyes pierced her. "It was the brown haired girl, the soprano – Rose."

"Marley," Marie-Claire realized. She nodded at the captain of the Warblers, then started to move towards the stage, but immediately knew she couldn't go there. There were already people blocking the passage to the podium. She needed to get backstage – Marley was being carried out of sight. She turned towards the exit.

In the hallway, she suddenly felt freed. The air was colder, fresher. She breathed in. Why did it go wrong? Where did it go wrong? She left. She couldn't know – she didn't know, because she left. There was something wrong with Marley. _No shit Sherlock. _Think. She hadn't talked to the girl. Not that much. Yes, when school had just started, they met, they talked, she even helped Marley a bit. They gave each other a chance. But somehow, it had stopped when Marley joined the New Directions.

She groaned.

Her thoughts were going too fast.

Why did she care anyways? It wasn't like Marley was one of her best friends or something. Maybe that was the point. She didn't have best friends. She had Sebastian, but that was family. And even though the Warblers were a good bunch of friends, they didn't truly know her. The same was with the other few people she had started to consider friends. Something in her longer for a friend in the true meaning. Some suppressed, pathetic part in her heart. A part she'd better ignore.

She slowed down.

Ignore. Ignore.

Who was she kidding?

Who had she been kidding the whole time? Only Sebastian saw through her, because he was exactly the same. They were sons of a bastard, they were selfish, independent assholes. They didn't want to care about others, even though they did. And when they did, it was for just a few people – and it wasn't just something. It hadn't been 'just something' with Blaine. And it wasn't with the Warblers. It wasn't with Blaine and Marley and Santana and even Puck.

Headache.

Her thoughts were really going too fast.

She needed to get outside. Backstage wouldn't work. She couldn't possibly run in there. And even if she managed to do that, she wouldn't be much of a help. Marie-Claire pressed her clammy hand against her forehead and started to make her way outside.

The cold grip on her arm came out of nowhere.

"I knew I would be able to find you here," a voice whispered in her ear.

She shook with terror, desperately tried to pull herself out of the grip, but the man didn't give in. He gripped harder into her arms, leaving prints in her skin.

"I have been waiting for you, but you didn't come. Sebastian did tell you, right? I want to speak with you, Claire," he said, almost pleadingly. "Look, I know it was wrong to push you around…"

"Push me around?!" she repeated frantically, high pitched. "Damn, _Howard_, if I didn't knew better, I would think you were trying to kill me. But you were kept from doing that, because you otherwise wouldn't have anyone to beat up!" she screamed.

Howard Smythe flinched. "I didn't –"

"O fucking hell, don't try to look for an excuse. I won't come back."

"I want you to, Marie-Claire. A new start, please," Howard begged. "It wasn't my intention to hurt you. It all just became too much. I couldn't take it anymore, I didn't know what I was doing, I was on the alcohol, I –"

"Spare your breath. It isn't worth it," she responded, trying to calm herself. Her heart was pounding heavily, her breathing was going too fast. The grip on her arm was as iron and she couldn't seem to get herself out of it without hurting her father. Though she wouldn't have a problem with that, she was scared what it could provoke. Somehow, all her fear had come back. Nothing had freaked her out more than this moment, when her father had actually gone looking for her. "You're already hurting me now," she pointed out. "You were hardly on the alcohol. Okay, yes, you drank it, but you were never drunk enough to not know what you were doing." She took a breath. "I believe it…" her voice broke. There were no tears, but the lump in her throat was present. Very present. "I _want _to believe it when you say you didn't intent to hurt me, when you say you want a new start." Another breath. "But I can't."

"Claire –"

"Don't. Don't call me Claire. You're not my father anymore. Please, let me go…" she spoke so softly. A part of her was embarrassed. She never, ever, had shown so much vulnerability towards her father.

He didn't let go, though.

She prepared herself for the worst, clenching her hands to a fist. Instead of aiming for his jaw, which would have been a good place, her punch ended up on her chest. It did nothing but angering her father. Marie-Claire then hit the arms he was holding her with. Finally, he let go.

She jumped backwards, seeing her father charging towards her, anger evident in his eyes. So much anger. As a fire it burned and she wouldn't be able to escape.

"Go away!" she screamed.

"MC!"

Sebastian sprinted towards her. She looked at him with panic in her eyes.

"Seb…" she whispered.

The hits came in an instant. Her father had seen Sebastian, but he apparently didn't care. He wanted to punish her for refusing his offer. She felt his punches, his kicks. One to her head left her crumbling to the ground. She couldn't see properly.

Suddenly, it stopped.

With dazed eyes, she looked up. Sebastian stood in front of her, facing his father.

"Don't, dad. What… What are you doing?"

He was trembling. He had never seen their father like this.

Unlike her.

"Sebastian, 'Bastian, 'Bastian… GET AWAY!" she shouted.

The look in Howard Smythe's eyes was too familiar. Way too familiar.

He again reached forward, grabbed Sebastian forcefully by his neck, hauling him slightly up – but the man was no bodybuilder and his son, though he was light and slim, was too heavy for his arms. Sebastian crashed into a wall, the fingers of his father digging into his skin. He tried to breathe, but couldn't get air. Marie-Claire struggled to get up, seeing her brother slowly weakening, his protests lessening. Their father didn't seem to realize what he was doing.

Sebastian became redder, opened his mouth and then closed it.

"Howard…" she whispered.

"Father." A bit stronger.

"Dad!" A shout.

He didn't respond to her.

Sebastian tried to hit him, but he was too weak. He was suffocating, and she didn't even have to strength to stand up. Her brother rapidly became weaker. Howard, controlled and blinded by his anger, smashed his sons head into the wall a few times. Sebastian started to loose consciousness.

She shook her head.

His eyes slowly closed.

"No. No. No no no…" she whispered, trying to stand body refused.

"SEBASTIAN!"


	9. Swan Song

Another chapter. Not much to say. **Damselindestress98** - this chapter is for you! There is some Hunclaire.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

**Song(s) used: **I know I said there would be a song this chapter ... well ... there isn't. But you can guess at the end. :-)

* * *

**Swan Song**

_"Don't dream it's over."_

* * *

Sectionals. Her birthday. Hell. It equalized each other.

Everything was white and clean surrounding her. Bright lights blinded her view, even now, when she had closed her eyes, willing to drown herself in the darkness. It was quiet. The silence she had missed, was now dreaded. She wanted the laughs, the talks, the jokes from the guys, but they weren't there. Life suddenly was so contradicting. The peace outside, the war inside. Her head was bursting. It wasn't pain. Thoughts were so much more than pain, they could torture like no one else, broke you down from the inside, while it went unnoticed by others.

Ha – and they said that medicines were supposed to calm you down, even drug you.

It clearly didn't exactly work on her. Or they hadn't given her enough. But she didn't want more, because her very philosophical sate of mind actually pleased her. It took her focus away from her brother, brought it somewhere else. Apart from the fact she now thought of Sebastian again. Sebastian.

She could kill her father. It wasn't in the way teenagers usually said – when they were forbidden to do something and hated their parents because of that. No. Her father was the reason why Sebastian was laying white as a sheet, with closed eyes, unmoving. Her brother didn't deserve this – the siblings were a lot, but not that cruel to end up like that. So she had turned her hatred to her father. If she saw him, she would certainly be able to kill him. She didn't have to, though. She had no idea where Howard was, but – in the words of some smiling nurse – 'he couldn't harm her anymore'. Like he would be the one to harm her. Next time, when she was fully recovered, she wouldn't be the one being beaten up. Next time, she would attack him in pure rage. Next time, Sebastian wouldn't have to stand in front of her.

She shivered.

* * *

"SEBASTIAN!"

Everything happened in a slow-motion scene. Marie-Claire felt adrenaline rushing through her body and with a shout she managed to raise, effectively lounging at her fathers legs. He was caught off-guard, stumbled away to regain his balance, but let Sebastian slip in the progress. From the corners of her eye, she could see her brother crumbling to the ground, eventually laying unmoving on the ground. She couldn't even see if he was breathing – before she could make another movement, she felt another kick being planted in her chest, shoving her backwards, back on the floor.

Her hands immediately moved to protect her head, but nothing came. Instead, she heard angry – no, furious – shouting. The voice scared the crap out of her, sounding more fearsome than she had ever heard. But she knew it. She recognized it. Feeling numb again, exhausted by everything and everyone, she slowly moved her heavy arms, placing them under her body and pushing her slightly up. She could see what was happening with tired eyes.

Her father was now the one being beaten up and pressed against a wall. The boy who held the man in a strong grip looked full of hatred, but mostly … fear? He looked somehow scared. She understood when he tossed her father aside, as if the man weighted nothing, and he focused on her brother. Marie-Claire turned her head, causing a hammer to crack her scull open, and looked with huge green eyes at her brother. He still hadn't moved. She came forward, pulled herself forward on the ground.

"Sebby?" Her voice sounded so small, so childish. She didn't care. She just wanted her brother to be okay – she was so exhausted, her whole body ached, her heart was broken, her mind was a mess, her thoughts were confusing… Nothing worked properly. She wanted her brother to work properly.

"MC!" a few voices behind her chorused. She didn't have to look to know that the other Warblers were closing in on them. Black spots appeared in front of her eyes. "MC?" another voice said, sounding much closer. She tried to look in his eyes, but felt so tired. Her eyelids were falling. "Don't. Don't sleep. You need to stay awake," the voice coached her. The voice of her hero.

"It hurts," she mumbled.

"I know, Claire, but you need to stay awake. Stay with me and Bas and the Warblers."

"Hunter?" she whispered.

"He is fine," Hunter immediately said, somehow guessing her thoughts. "He will be fine. He has a concussion and he is unconscious now, but an ambulance is coming and they'll know what to do."

She focused on his voice, leaned against the cold wall. Her eyes closed slowly.

"Stay awake, Claire! I'm not joking," the captain of the Warblers warned her. She heard footsteps coming closer. She felt a hand on hers – fingers grapping her tightly, squeezing her hands. It was Hunter.

"I'm … awake..." she managed to get out. "The light hurts. Looking hurts." Her explanation sucked. She let out a hysterical laugh and felt another comforting squeeze in her hand. She tried to squeeze back. "Just talk. I'll listen," she said softly.

She heard Hunter sigh. "The others are here."

"David called an ambulance," she heard Trent saying, sounding shaken. She could imagine his pale face, his huge eyes. "Niff is here, holding hands and acting as a perfect couple comforting each other. Now they're looking angry at me." She snorted. "Thad is somewhere hyperventilating, Flint is with him." She smiled slightly. "'Box is here too. David too. Wes is keeping the other Warblers away, to give us some peace." She frowned. "Oh, Wes is an alumni, but he came to watch the performance. He's awesome."

Hunter didn't let go of her hand. "For once, Niff is speechless," he told her. "And Sebastian – he will be fine, MC. He won't suddenly give up. He's the perfect asshole brother, he'll first want to see you when he wakes up. Let's hope that's in the hospital, before he hurts himself even more." She smiled. "Your father is right now being held by David and Meatbox," she then heard. She tried to open her eyes. "Don't. Just, lay still, stay awake. You don't need to open your eyes," Hunter hushed. "Your father is shocked." His voice was softer now, only for her to be heard. "He looks at you guys with huge eyes. I'm definitely not talking good what he has done to you, but he is scared and worried, I can see that. He isn't angry anymore. Though beaten up a lot." She smirked. "Don't laugh at the pain of others!"

"He's a cunt," she croaked.

"True –"

"- story."

Niffs voices echoed through the hall. If she had opened her eyes, she had surely seen Trent and Hunter glaring at the two boys. She knew the Warblers so well now. In the distance, she heard an ambulance. And other voices and footsteps.

"Blaine, calm down…"

She didn't know that one.

"I need to see them!"

Blaine. A hysterical Blaine.

"Damn, where…"

Puckerman Jr? Sam?

"What about Marley?"

Ryder.

"Come on little bro."

Puck.

"I'll kill him! I'll go Lima heights on his fucking ass!"

Santana.

"Tuu duu tuu duu."

Ambulance.

She really needed the last one.

* * *

"MC?"

She looked up, saw Hunter entering her room. He looked incredibly tired – huge bags were under his eyes, he was pale and as she could see the blood on his shirt, he still hadn't changed his clothes.

"What's up?" she tried to sound bored.

He chuckled. "Sebastian is doing fine. He'll wake up soon."

Since when had Clarington began to read her that good? The question had been laying on her lips, but he had already figured out from her eyes. She shook her head. The medicines had caused her not to feel any pain, but it made her stomach turn inside. It just didn't feel right. She was used to some pain – why couldn't she just take it, as usual?

"Go away," she told Hunter.

He raised an eyebrow. "What? No, thank you for saving my life or at least a how are you?"

"I meant to say 'get sleep'," she told him. "I'm just no good at saying nice things." The captain chuckled again. She liked the sound of it. He hardly ever laughed – not sincerely. She tried to sit up a bit more. Hunter came forward, but she shook her head again. "Come on, I'm not invalid!" She pressed a button and the bed changed into a very uncomfortable mix between a stupid chair or a pathetic couch. "Thank, Hunt…" she mumbled then.

Hunter ignored her thanks – and she was glad for it. Instead, he glanced at the door. "The nurses said you could have guests," he said, question evident in his voice. She just nodded. "Do you want guests?" he asked hesitantly. She nodded. "Who?" She shrugged. "Can you talk?" She nodded. "Smythe…"

"Damn, I'm laying in a hospital bed because my father likes to use me as a punching bag –" she really used that expression too much "- and you are asking me a thousand questions when I'm supposed to have rest, be silent and especially be traumatized. Look, I'm in shock, I've got a blanket!" She gestured towards the blanket that – fair enough – was laying on her feet.

Hunter grinned. "You watch Sherlock?"

"Hell yeah!" she exclaimed. "It's only like the best series ever."

"Maybe you're not that bad," Hunter told her.

"Maybe you're not all bad and straight either," she stated.

"What's with you and thinking I'm gay?"

"Ah, don't get me wrong. I've got an excellent gaydar and you're not even in the slightest giving me the 'pling pling'-vibes, something a gay person would do. But Sebastian and you would just be perfect together. The two assholes," she grinned.

"I just saved your life and your brother is laying in a hospital bed in a worse shape than you are in. Yet you call us assholes?"

"I'm not a very nice person."

"Figured that. So, I'll get some of your biggest fans. They have been waiting all this time."

She chuckled when he walked out of the room, but when he was gone, she sunk back into the mattress, sighing deeply – something that caused her ribs to ache a bit. This lightened her up a bit. At least she felt something. She thought about Sebastian and frowned. Hunter was right, she shouldn't call him an asshole. But she wanted to keep up the façade, not let anyone think her father would break her. He wouldn't. Marie-Claire Smythe wasn't to be broken that easily. She would be just as always, at least to others.

"MC! Finally!" Niff came storming into the room. She glanced at the clock – she had been in the room for many hours, most of the time unconscious. It was already far past midnight. She wondered why the nurses allowed her friends to be with her. But she didn't complain. Instead, she smiled thankfully at the dismayed looking nurse who stood on the hall, looking inside the room and seeing the two overenthusiastic Warblers running to the patient.

"Guys, if you don't want to get thrown out, you shouldn't attack me," she managed to warn before she was pulled in an immense – bit painful – hug.

"Nice to see you too," Jeff grinned.

"Don't scare us like that ever again," Nick warned.

Trent was the second one to embrace her – even more bone crushing than his friends – and whispered in her ear. "Be more careful." As if it was her fault. Thad and David came walking in as well, with an Asian guy following them. The first two hugged her carefully, while the other offered her his hand.

"Wes," he introduced himself. "Former Warbler."

"The best leader we ever had…" Trent added. Wow. Even better than Blaine? Maybe he was from before Blaine. Or it had something to do with the complicated system the Warblers had – with councils and everything.

"Marie-Claire Smythe," she answered Wes, shaking his hand. He squeezed hers. She smiled. "But I'm sure the birds already told you everything."

"You're right about that. A girl Warbler – that's something new." She shrugged, not really indentifying herself as Warbler. "Look, guys, I only agreed on this if you kept your calm. The nurses will never allow it, so they can't know."

She raised an eyebrow. "Sorry?"

Wes laughing sheepishly. "The guys all wanted in. I couldn't really stop them." She looked at him, shocked. He understood her immediately. "No no! Not all the Warblers. Well, yeah, all of them wanted in, but we are only left with a few now, and they all wanted in. Your best friends at Dalton," he explained.

She smiled. _Your best friends at Dalton_. After that statement, two other boys joined the group. Flint and Meatbox. They hugged her awkwardly and then stared at their shoes. A silence fell over the boys. She rolled her eyes. "So you are just going to stand here and do nothing?" No answer, of course. From the corners of her eyes – that hurt, which meant the painkillers were finally ebbing away – she saw Hunter entering … with no one else than Blaine. Behind them, she could see others. When Anderson entered though, the silence became awkward. She groaned. Then, again people entered.

The two Puckermans, Ryder, Santana, Brittany, Quinn – Quinn? –, Mike – huh? – together with Tina – why was she there? –, Mercedes – well, she couldn't be surprised anymore, even if an elephant entered – and Sam.

She whistled. "Party hardy…" she muttered.

Her words were followed by comforting hugs, awkward handshakes and an even more uncomfortable silence than before. Classic.

"MC, you mind telling us what was going us?" Hunter suddenly spoke up.

Yay. He had found a conversation subject. And it was the one she wanted to avoid as much as possible. But when Nick and Jeff tried to say something, she raised her hand and smiled thankful at them. They understood a bit from what was going on. They knew about her situation and the family Smythe. And somehow, she had decided the others should know too.

"Well, it all started five years ago – no wait, six. Six! Holy crap, it's my birthday. Great." She rolled her eyes, then quickly spoke again. "If anyone of you is going to say something cheesy as 'happy birthday' I'm going to ask Santana to go all Lima Heights on you, because I'm seriously not in the mood."

Santana just grinned, the others remained silent.

"Okay, six years ago."

* * *

The story went quite well.

Apart from all the New Directions members who – apparently having lost – were all looking like a nest of puppies had been killed and the Warblers ended up standing in a row, all having their arms around each others necks as if they were singing the national theme at a football game. Apart from a crying Blaine, as well as Brittany who was sobbing in Sams shoulder while Jeff was doing the same with Nick, and Quinn and Trent standing with wet eyes. Apart from the Puckermans claiming they wanted to beat her dad up while Ryder just miserably shook his head. Apart from Santana being held back by Mike and Mercedes from doing what the hell she could have done. Apart from Tina looking like she had caused everything. Apart from Thad started to hyperventilate again, David clinging onto Wes as if he was his mother – the guy seemed like a mother to the Warblers, really – and Flint punching the wall. Apart from Hunter almost crushing her shoulder while she was talking. Apart from Meatbox fainting.

The last thing made her day, though. She had never laughed so hard before in her life.

The very defeated and down New Directions – who she had actually told that everything would be alright again, despite her still believing they were losers – eventually left. Some stayed a bit longer, like Santana and Blaine, but after an hour they were all gone and Claire was left with the Warblers. Then, the boys slowly dripped off, too. Wes first, probably because he didn't know her at all. David and Thad went with him. Then Flint, Meatbox and Trent. Niff eventually went too, but not before reporting that every single one of them would be waiting on the hallway until she could get out of bed.

Hunter left as last one. He had been hesitating for a very long time until he finally asked. "Why didn't you tell me?" His eyes looked sad. She had never seen him unhappy – not that she had ever seen him particularly happy, but at least there was almost this confident aura around him, making him seem content with himself. Now, that was gone. He looked incredibly worn-out. His voice was raspy.

"No reason to," she answered cold.

He sighed. "MC? I don't think that's a good answer."

"It wasn't a good question. We were never close." She shrugged.

"Were?"

"Well, you saving my brother and me and staying with me in the ambulance was some good bonding time, I suppose. And just when I was talking and you were beside me the whole time. Awfully cliché, but true – it helps when someone standing next to you. Or in front of you. Or behind you. Hunt, you pretty much became some kind of hero today. And I'm really thankful for that. And the constant bickering and fighting between you and Seb and me? That was just our way of showing friendship, I suppose. I just only realized it now." She licked her dry lips and looked right in his eyes.

"Now? When you were staring death in the eyes?" Hunter snorted.

"Pretty much, yeah," she grinned.

Hunter laughed. He actually laughed. Marie-Claire looked curiously at the captain of the Warblers, saw his white teeth flickering. He looked so much less uptight and stresses when he just relaxed and laughed. But, she figured, that would probably be the same thing with her. She knew she had become more relaxed since spending time at Dalton. The Warblers were actually really good to be around. She had always been older than her true age, but it seemed the Warblers brought her back to her puberty a bit.

"Go and get some sleep, Hunt," she told the boy.

He sighed and pulled a hand through his hair. She responded by ruffling through it. He shook his head in dismay. "Fine, fine, I'll sleep. What about your bed?" He raised an eyebrow and grinned goofy.

She wondered if he had drank too much. But an instant later, she realized that she was right now seeing the side of Hunter Clarington that hardly anyone got to see. He looked at her with twinkling eyes. She bit her lip, thinking about when she would see this side again. It was probably her choice. "Sure playboy. Just be happy Seb isn't fit enough to kill you." She moved aside.

Hunter stood with an open mouth.

"Well, yes or no?"

He smiled, jumped on the bed. Luckily for him, he kept enough distance – if that was possible on a hospital bed. It surprised her that he fell asleep immediately. Though it was a restless one and he moved around the whole time, he was sleeping. Only he hadn't got the same peaceful expression on his face some had when they slept.

She closed her own eyes, still sitting up a bit, Hunter curled up beside her.

The Warblers had won Sectionals – there had been no party, of course, but they had won, and fair too, even though Marley had passed out. The girl was fine, according to everyone. Marie-Claire sighed, wondering about the New Directions. Blaine had become a good friend of hers. Marley was a friend, and somehow Ryder and Jake were starting to be her friends too. Sam was still just another Glee club member, but she liked him, in a weird way. She was annoyed by his dumbness, the same with Brittany, but they had better hearts than her. Tina and Kitty were bitches, but she realized she herself wasn't that good either. She had known that, but still, she only really realized it now, laying in a hospital bed, after telling 'her story'. Joe, Wade and Artie were in her eyes pretty neutral.

She wondered what the hell was wrong with her that she had quit a group she actually liked a bit, that she had run away from home as a coward when she should have just stayed and confronted her father, that she had watched her brother getting beaten up because he wanted to protect her.

Maybe it was time to change. Really change. She knew she had become someone and she couldn't just go back. But she could adjust a bit, let people in a bit more. She couldn't erase the shocked and most of all betrayed expressions of the people listening to her when she told them her father had been beating her up occasionally and her mother was dead. They didn't pity her. They just felt sad she hadn't trusted them.

And she understood that.

Hunter grunted, grabbed the blankets so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His face was strained and he was sweating a bit. She sighed softly and instinctively put her arm around him. Marie-Claire sometimes forgot he wasn't that much older than her. Two years, maybe, but not much more. She pulled her fingers through his hair without thinking. He relaxed a bit under her touch and she smiled.

Maybe she could get used to trusting and opening her heart.

* * *

He hadn't even put his name under the mail. She wondered how he had gotten her address – maybe he got it from a teacher. It didn't really matter to her, because when she read the e-mail, a smile appeared on her face. She had quit. She had never looked in the choir room again and she had supported the Warblers during Sectionals. Yet now she was reading an e-mail directed towards the New Directioners to come to practice.

It was days later. The Warblers, ensured that she was almost ready to leave the hospital and was perfectly fine, had finally gone back to Dalton a day ago. She visited Sebastian often, most of the time illegally, though they both didn't care. Their most frequent guests were – not surprisingly – Nick and Jeff, and – surprisingly to her brother, but not anymore to her – Hunter. They kept them up to date about all the gossip at Dalton, while Blaine texted her about everything in McKinley.

She looked at the screen of her phone, thoughtful. Then, she made her decision. She jumped out of bed, took a quick shower, washed her hair, dried it, brushed it and pulled it in a nonchalant ponytail. After putting on jeans, sneakers, a t-shirt and a jacket, she practically stormed out of her room.

The nurse who tried to stop her was being shouted at. "Lifetime opportunity, made a mistake, second chance," she told the lady when she ran by while dialing a number on her phone. A second later, a familiar voice came through. "Hi Hunt, you close? Nice. I need you to bring me somewhere." She paused. "Please. Yeah, the hospital is fine with it." She sprinted past the reception, hoping no one would catch her. Her head ached and her body was still bruised, but it wasn't about to stop her.

Hunter stopped in front of the building. "Where would it be, madam?" he asked her.

"William McKinley High School," she responded with a confident smile.


	10. Glee, actually

You have permission to kill me for making you wait so long. A few New Years resolutions - can you still remember New Year? - caused me to work harder for school and write more on my other stories and works. I just didn't have time or inspiration - I know, worst excuse ever for a fanfiction writer, we aren't allowed to say this - to update. I'm every so sorry.

Thanks to **JoeyKangarooGirl** and **Ali** for reviewing. JoeyKangarooGirl - I wish I would have told you this sooner, but as you now know, the story hasn't ended yet. Enjoy this chapter!  
(Also, I'm not yet sure what to do with the storyline the Warblers have gotten, so the next update may take a while ... again. For this, you may blame the writers from Glee. How can they make some schoolboys so evil?)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

**Song(s) used: **I should stop with adding this. But I like continuity, so this useless information will be appearing above every chapter.

* * *

**Glee, actually**

_"Okay, well, a family is a place where everyone loves you no matter what, and they accept you for who you are."_

* * *

"So how did you get an apartment?"

"Sebastian, I already told you five times."

"I still can't believe it."

"Well, me neither. That's McKinley for you."

"Explain."

"Again?!"

"Oh, come on, you can't expect me to believe this!"

"Okay. Brittany just approached me on the hallway and gave me this silver necklace with a key on it. Then she told me Coach Sylvester helped her and she mumbled something about the end of the world and I think she mentioned demons and dolphins too, but I'm not sure about that."

"You got an apartment?"

"SEBASTIAN!"

Her brother was laying on his bed, the book he was reading tossed on the ground after he heard her announcing special news. His green eyes had twinkled amused when she had nervously sat down on her own bed, folding her hands and telling him with controlled voice she had finally found a place to live. As soon as she revealed how she had gotten the apartment, he had just stared at her, his mouth literally fallen open. They had both laughed for a while, after which she had been forced to tell the story again a few times.

"So why are you telling me this now?" Sebastian turned and lay down on his back, staring at the white ceiling. He searched the floor absently with his hand, trying to find the book without looking at it.

She pushed it towards him with her foot. "Because I couldn't believe it either, so I first stalked Brittany for a day and heard about a thousand times how I was her friend and how I put a smile on her face by calling people names and how I reminded her of her ex-girlfriend, then she finally gave me the address which she had forgotten to add. Coach Sylvester ignored me, as usual, so I just said thanks and the next day I went to look for the apartment."

Sebastian looked at her expectantly. "That was the 21st, right?"

"How many times do I have to repeat myself?" she sighed. "Yeah. I went into the apartment, looked around, freaked out, said some nice curses and went back to Dalton." She shrugged and grabbed another one of the chocolates Trent had given them before he went home to celebrate Christmas with his family.

"But it's the 24th. Why wait all this time?" Sebastian had finally found the book, picking it up with a satisfied smile on his face. He put it on this desk, almost pushing off the box with chocolates. She caught it just in time.

"Because it was meant to be some kind of surprise! I first wanted to make sure Brittany hadn't bought a dollhouse instead. She would be able to do it. And after that, I helped Marley with setting up a good Christmas song to thank Coach Sylvester," she explained.

"I thought she was so horrible?" her brother questioned.

She chuckled. "Well, actually, she is quite funny. I don't know, how she curses the whole time and throws things around and tries to bring the Glee club down – it's all very enjoyable. As if our whole life is some kind of musical comedy-drama." The chocolate melted on her tongue and she smiled happily. Music was playing on the radio, the curtains were closed and some small lights were on. It was warm and cozy in the room.

The last month had been awfully confusing and stressful. Of course, the Warblers had won Sectionals on her birthday, but they hadn't celebrated anything because of the events with her father. She had been in the hospital for a few days, while Sebastian had been for a week. After that, Nick and Jeff had the intention of giving a party, but Hunter had convinced them to let it rest, since Sebastian could only lie on his bed for another week. When he had recovered, though, they had both involved with the court case of their father.

Eventually, after a long and tiring time of telling everything what happened over and over, he had been sentenced for five years. It had been news for a while, with big headlines. There were indignant reactions from many people, but the Warblers were the most in a huff, constantly complaining about the soft sentence. Hunter had claimed a few times he should have punched the man a few more times, but at those times, David came in and reminded them that by the time Howard Smythe was out of jail, he had nothing to say about his children anymore. Marie-Claire was always glad to hear this – she repeated it often to herself, but hearing it from someone else gave her this warmth in her heart.

She was independent.

"MC?"

Dalton had accepted her, in a way. Though she didn't attend the school and wasn't allowed in the school building during classes, the headmaster had made some exceptions and she could stay in the room of her brother as long as he had no roommate. It had been hard to get the place, but Dalton eventually realized if they didn't take her in, she wouldn't have a house and they would make the news in a very negative way. So, bending their rules, which didn't exactly say a girl wasn't allowed to live at Dalton, only not attend classes, she had been welcomed in the student society with open arms, already being familiar with all the Warblers and some other boys.

"Claire?"

When she was turning sixteen, in a year time, she would be able to become an emancipated minor – with help from a good lawyer and some threatening with bad media reputation, the court had been convinced she could take care of herself. Avoiding some laws and making excellent use of some legal blackmailing – she didn't even know that was possible – she was free to live on her own at the age of sixteen, as long as someone could check up on her and her brother would keep a close eye.

"Claire!"

She looked up. Sebastian was staring at her, an eyebrow raised and his arms crossed. He stood in the middle of the room, wearing black jeans and a shirt with his Dalton tie and blazer. It differed slightly from the usual outfit, not having the right pants. She copied her brothers moves, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

"Trousers?" she asked smugly.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "We're having diner. The uniforms trousers don't look that nice."

"Well, it is a Warbler evening. You should wear the uniform," she answered.

He smiled. "Oh, come on, I can wear this. It's close enough, right?" She didn't respond, instead stood up and walked over to her closet. Sebastian eyed her curiously. "What? You are going to wear something special?" he wanted to know. She glared at him. "Okay, I'll leave. Remember – Hunter's here at six. And he doesn't like waiting."

"I know!" she exclaimed. "Get out of the room." Her brother indeed left. She smiled, then turned towards the closet. Marie-Claire never, ever, wore a skirt or a dress. Usually, she kept to jeans, short sleeve shirts and warm but simple sweaters or jackets. A pair of sneakers, a necklace and some bracelets, that was all. But tonight, she had decided to go for something special. Sebastian and she had quite some things to celebrate, and most of the Warblers would be there with them – apart from Trent, John and Harry, who were all with family. The latter three were now called traitors for the end of the year – which didn't last long – because of breaking some kind of Warblers tradition that the Christmas Eve diner was held together. Luckily, they had ordered her to come – not giving her a choice – and apparently Wes would be there too, so there was nothing to worry about.

She picked out a strapless, short dress, simply colored in the navy blue of the Warblers blazers. Around her middle, there was a red belt. The dress fitted quite nicely around her slim figure – it wasn't too short and the lower part was a bit wide, whirling around her legs. She actually liked the feeling of wearing something like this. It made her feel pretty. Marie-Claire was perhaps not the most outstanding girl, but she had her green eyes and attitude. With a dress and some make-up, she was at least noticeable. Grinning, she brushed her hair, added some lip-gloss and let the necklace with the key to the apartment slide around her neck. She touched it briefly before letting the key disappear under her dress. Then, grinning, she tied a Warbler tie around her neck. It didn't look particularly beautiful or hot, but the guys would adore it, she was sure.

She grabbed a jacket and left the room with a confident smile.

* * *

"So… You got an apartment as Christmas present?"

"Not again!" Marie-Claire groaned, rubbing her sleep. She glared angrily at Nick, who now shrugged with a small smile and turned towards Jeff, the blonde trying to eat a piece of wood that looked very much like a breadstick. David, from the right side, just pulled the thing out of the other Warbler's fingers and put it on his own plate, shaking his head. Meatbox was giving away a beat box show for Flint, who was actually not even listening but instead having more interest in Thad, the boy going on about Italy again. Luke and James were playing with some nuts that they had gotten with their food. The game looked like chess. Sebastian had been busy eye fucking some handsome waiter the whole night. Hunter, as captain of the Warblers and therefore the one who had to keep an eye on everything, didn't seem like he could take much more. He had been sitting unmoving for a few minutes how, his head buried in his hands, his fingers in his hair.

She grinned.

There was something about the Warblers that made her feel relaxed and happy, but the reactions of other people on the group singing guys in blazers was sometimes even better than the schoolboys themselves. Hunter, for instance, seemed like he had gotten a thousand white hairs in the months that he had been captain. The Dean of the school had really gotten a lot of grey hairs. Many girls found the blazers and ties hot, but once they got to know the Warblers, they were usually convinced that they were all gay. David had a girlfriend, but Thad, Flint and Meatbox, despite trying to find one, hadn't been able to get once. Several times they had been told that they were gay by a girl who hardly knew them.

Marie-Claire chuckled. She sat between Nick and Hunter, with Sebastian opposite of her. Being the only girl in the company, she had gotten some weird looks from people – though the most priceless look had had to be the one from Puckerman. The two brothers were, probably together with their mothers, too in Breadstix. She had also seen Coach Beiste with Sam and Brittany, probably to tell them they weren't married.

"Hunter, just let them be," Wes advised the captain when he tried to interfere with a cuddle fight between Nick and Jeff. "Breadstix is used to them. They just need one night to go all crazy."

Marie-Claire studied the former councilman for a while. He had been famous for his high grades, gavel and perfect leadership over the Warblers. No one else had been able to keep the boys in line like him, not even Hunter Clarington from military academy. The two had been talking for a while, Wes giving Hunter advice on leading the Warblers to a Nationals victory without causing explosions or flying pigs. That was, apparently, much harder than it seemed.

"Speech!" Jeff suddenly shouted.

They already had one from Hunter. He wasn't a man of many words in situations like this and had simply toasted on a good Christmas and New Year, seconded by the entire group. More speeches weren't unfamiliar with the Warblers, though, so everyone turned quiet – after a few restless minutes – and looked expectantly at their blonde colleague. Who returned their looks, mirroring the emotion.

"Ehm, Jeff, you're supposed to speech now," Nick informed him hesitantly.

The blonde looked confused. "I _want _a speech, I'm not going to give one…"

Nick and Thad pulled the boy down. Hunter and Wes hid their faces in their hands and sighed heavily at the same time. Flint and Meatbox seemed to be discussing something, but they obviously weren't going to get an agreement. James started to stand up, but Luke pulled him down – luckily, because his friend wouldn't be able to stop talking once he got the chance to let his voice be heard. David and Sebastian were having a quiet conversation. Claire shook her head.

She knew that a speech should be held. To many things hadn't been discussed openly. Of course there had been rumors and messages spread from mouth to mouth, but the events that had happened lately had never been actually told, only gossiped about. Someone had to raise and tell everyone what the plans were for the next year. Loud and clear, without confusing Dalton gossip or awkward looks towards the Smythes if they could talk about it.

David and Sebastian had come to the same conclusion. They had even decided something else. Two pairs of eyes were focused on her. She could feel them burning but shook her head frantically, mouthing 'no'. Hunter and Wes had picked up the signal though and hope appeared on their faces. She groaned.

"Jeff, I agree. Speech," she said, raising from her chair. The blonde grinned and gave her a thumbs up, while she fistbumped with Nick and winked to Hunter, ignoring David and her brother pointedly. "Warblers –" she raised a glass "– once again together to celebrate. That's what you – _we_ do the best, isn't it? We missed some parties, though. I haven't heard of a party for Hunter becoming the new captain and you finally getting rid of my brother, I haven't heard of a birthday party for myself or a celebration for the fact you won Sectionals." The Warblers mumbled a bit. "So, this is an all in one, right?"

Silence.

She rolled her eyes. "This is the part where you all loudly agree with me, but okay, we'll skip that. I get that we went through some shit lately." Even more awkward silence. She looked at Sebastian, who winked. He seemed to be the only one getting that she didn't want this to be a taboo anymore. "Let's leave that behind us. Sebastian and I are fine, he can dance and sing, I can judge and bitch, so no losses for the Warblers. My father is in prison and he'll be there for five years, never to touch us again, Hunter made sure of that. I'll stay at Dalton until I'm sixteen, then I'll move out but by no means leave you behind. This, dear birds, means we can leave the year finished behind us and focus on a new one, where we won't get beaten up and win Regionals and maybe even Nationals. Some of us will graduate and move on to college, others will stay at Dalton. As long as we all remember – once a Warbler…"

"… always a Warbler," the boys chorused like trained puppies.

Claire raised her glass once again. "A toast. To all of us." She knew she had gotten the attention of not only the boys, but also the other people she knew in the restaurant, and she would use that. "To Hunter, our new captain and hero. To Wes, our returned alumnus and the shoulder to lean on. To Sebastian, our co-captain and playboy," she mentioned the most important people on the table for all the Warblers. "I myself want to thank the Puckermans, for being badasses and my friends – good luck on their family reunion. Also, Brittany, thanks for giving me a whole. Sam, thanks for … being a nice guy, I suppose, Coach Beiste, thanks for being the best teacher we have at McKinley. We need more like you there. Now, guys. A toast." She smiled slightly.

The Warblers raised their glasses, joined by the few people from McKinley who were present. "To all of us," they repeated. "And a new year."

* * *

"I can't believe you brought us all to a gay bar," Hunter complained for the thousandth time, facing Sebastian. The green eyed boy ordered another strong alcoholic drink and smirked, winking at his captain.

"We need to get you fixed," he answered smugly. "Not even remotely bi-curious doesn't suit you." He handed Marie-Claire a coke. She frowned. "No alcohol for you," Sebastian told her.

"Sebastian, a month ago you were laying in a hospital bed. I'd say the same to you," she responded, though she took the coke and sipped from it. It was a miracle they even got into Scandals. This had probably to do with the shameless flirting of her brother with the bouncer and their fake IDs – the good ones, not the ones Sebastian had leant Kurt and Blaine on their trip to the bar. Still, when Marie-Claire looked around her and saw the baby faces of the Warblers, she had to laugh. Scandals simply didn't care for the age of their customers.

"No, seriously, why are we here? This was supposed to be party…" Hunter sighed.

She almost pitied him. Almost. "Because the party can't be at Trent's, Sebastian and mine house is kind of … out of question, let's say it like that, and you don't want to share your living room."

"Have you seen these guys? They'd probably have body shots on the floor and sex on my couch. And I wouldn't even want to know what would happen in the bathroom," the captain shook his head, glancing at Nick, who was pushing another guy away from Jeff, shouting angrily. He sighed. "Sebastian?" The Smythe grinned and shrugged. "Oh come on…" Hunter raised and walked towards the fighting trio.

Marie-Claire took another sip from her drink. "He doesn't get it, does he?"

"Dalton parties or the Warblers?" Sebastian asked.

"Both," she grinned. "He has much to learn."

"I can't believe my fifteen year old sister is sitting in a gay bar with me, discussing how an older guy doesn't get how his friends from an all boys school party – which usually includes alcohol, sex and truth or dare together with seven minutes –"

"You are my brother, Bas," she interrupted him, laughing slightly.

Her brother winked, then glanced at a guy. "That's the waiter from Breadstix," he realized.

"Well, go them him, tiger." She rolled her eyes.

Sebastian hesitated. "Claire, if you dare to get into trouble..."

"This is a gay bar, bro. You'd better keep an eye on the birdies. I don't have a –"

"I get it," her brother cut her off. "Damn, you owe your vocabulary to me." With a last look at her, he disappeared in the dancing crowd. Marie-Claire looked at his brown hair, soon losing the sight on it. She smiled a bit sadly. Her brother had known she could take care of herself, yet lately he had been more protective over her. The reason was obvious and she understood him, but sometimes she caught him sitting in a corner, his eyes staring into nothing, with a pained expression on his face. Those were the times she just wanted to walk towards him and hug, keep him close. But the roles were different. Her brother wouldn't let her comfort him. Once he noticed her, he'd put on a mask, he'd be the one embracing her or just putting his walls up by making some kind of horrible sex joke. She never got through him.

"MC?" She looked up, saw Hunter sitting next to her once again, a concerned expression on his face. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm not the one having to keep an eye on a bunch of children who don't know how to take care of themselves," she responded quickly, before realizing she was exactly doing the same as she had just thought about Sebastian. A chuckle escaped her.

Hunter smiled. "You laugh more now," he stated.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why would that be?" Sarcasm dripped from her voice. "You too, though," she then said. It was true. Now Hunter was longer on Dalton, a smile crossed his face more often. She liked it.

"It's more peaceful here," Hunter said absentmindedly.

She frowned. "Than on military academy?"

Hunters eyes widened. "That – yeah." She wondered if he hadn't wanted to say that. It sure seemed like it. "So, what's happening at McKinley?" he switched subjects.

She didn't press, didn't ask about his former school or the fact that he didn't want to discuss it. Instead, she just went with his question. "You know they aren't competition anymore, right? No spying needed." She finished her drink. "It's fine, I guess. Brittany and Sam kind of married but actually didn't, Artie had some trouble but I'm not sure what, Finn is walking around depressed because he doesn't see Rachel the whole time, Marley is having her perfect Christmas, the Puckermans are fixing family stuff, Coach Sylvester is having a sudden mood switch which won't last long, Tina is still being a bitch, Blaine is going to New York for some godforsaken reason."

Hunter looked at her, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Welcome to McKinley. It's even worse than Dalton – sometimes," she muttered.

"They married?"

"Not really."

"Why?"

"Something with the apocalypse."

Hunter shook his head. "At least it doesn't get boring," he offered. "And I think Blaine's godforsaken reason is Kurt, right?"

She shook her head. "Leave it to you to be up to date with all the blackmail material. You probably studied with Sebastian. Anyway – yes, Kurt is his reason. It was horrible, though. He kept spilling all his troubles over me and then kept apologizing. He's horrible sometimes. But then again, he thinks I'm traumatized or something."

"So you have friends," Hunter randomly concluded.

She looked at him, feigning hurt. "Yes," she answered. "Why?"

"Nothing. No seemed out of place at McKinley. But even since you ran out of the hospital to go to some practice, you suddenly fit in there. And there were so many people visiting you that day just after the attack. Also people from McKinley." Hunter ordered a beer. "You want some?"

She shook her head. "Are you jealous?" she wondered, looking at the expression on Hunters face. She couldn't quite understand it. There was something sad about it, but he also was more relaxed.

"No way," Hunter responded loudly.

So he was.

"Why?"

"I'm not."

"Hunter."

"I –"

"Hunter."

"Okay, I just thought that the Warblers … us … you know, where kind of you only family?"

She narrowed her eyes, then understood. "You felt special and don't anymore?"

"Just skip school and study psychology already," Hunter sighed defeated.

She winked at him. "Hunt, you guys are my family." She smiled a bit at him, then turned towards the dancing crowd, watching her brother. Her green eyes scanned the people for a while, but disappointed, she didn't find anyone to turn her Smythe charms on. She rolled her eyes watching Flint stumbling around, Thad laughing hysterically in a corner and Meatbox loudly shouting for a microphone. Drunk Warblers were stereotypes. Wes and David were sitting in a corner, though, not being drunk. The Asian guy was looking at the Warblers with unbelief written all over his face – his show choir had changed a lot. David was probably talking sense into him.

"MC?"

"Huh, what?" she questioned, realized she had completely missed Hunters words.

"Why can't you be like any other girl…" the guy sighed.

Her face fell a little. "I'm not even going to answer that."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "I said; what about a date?"

"What, with who?" she answer, caught off-guard, wondering what he was talking about.

Hunter threw his hands in the air. "You. Me. Diner. Movie. Seriously, MC, I can't even simply ask you out on a date without getting some stupid remark."

She smirked. "You're asking me out? You know you are two years older than me and also a friend of my brother? The latter one is definitely a hook-off." She remained silent for a while. "Hunter, you're not really my type," she then answered sincerely.

"Give me a chance? I mean, you should like me. Have a crush on me or something. I'm a bit older, hot and athletic. I've got muscles and I'm from an all boys school. Also, I've saved you once. How much more to you want?" he asked.

"Well, not –"

"Oh come on," Hunter sighed. "One date? I'll change your mind. Why don't you fall for me?"

Claire shook her head, smirking. "You don't have breasts."

"Oh."

She started to laugh. "Don't … oh god, Hunter, at Dalton you _must _have a good gaydar, otherwise you won't come anywhere in that school. Don't tell me you didn't even consider?"

"I didn't," Hunter groaned. "Fuck, MC, you're making things so damn complicated."

"I know. Do you see any girl around here? I don't know why, but here in Ohio, girls stay in the closet even more than the guys do," she commented.

Hunter clenched his fists. "Fuck. Ah, I hate this. Okay, one date?"

"Hunter, I just told you I'm lesbian."

"You might be bi."

She raised an eyebrow.

"One date? Come on, if you think you can turn me gay, I think I can turn you straight." Hunter grinned confidently.

"You know how homophobic this sounds, right?" she said.

"Just answer the question!"

"Sure."

"What?"

"One date. Sure."

"Fuck. That was even easier than I thought."

"I choose, you pay?"

"This one time."

"Okay. Watch out for Bas, though."

"Why?"

"Because he's going to skip the 'if you hurt her'-talk and rip your head off immediately."

"I can take him."

"And all the other Warblers?"

"Oh fuck."


	11. Sadie Hawkins

It took me a long time. Again - but I'm just really really busy. Luckily for you, NaNoWriMo is approaching, which means I am going to procrastinate and last time this meant ... writing on this story instead of the one I should be writing on. So ... that means more updates. Anyways, thanks for reviewing **Razzleflag**, **AceinWonderland** and **Ali**. I had some of you there with the lesbian thing, though there were some slight hints earlier on. Never mind, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

**Song(s) used: **Nooo soooong agaaain. Sorry.

* * *

**Sadie Hawkins**

_"My first order of business, destroy the Glee club."_

_"I thought we were friends."_

_"That got boring."_

* * *

"Are you coming or what?" Hunter groaned. He was standing on the hallway, in front of her door, his fingers rubbing over his temples while his eyes were closed. The captain had been standing there for half an hour.

Marie-Claire wasn't that late, though, just ten minutes. Her date had only been a bit too excited. She rolled her eyes, closing the door to Sebastian's room behind her. "What a fine gentleman you are," she responded sarcastically while she walking towards him, being very self-conscious about her clothing. Jeff had decided he was the person to help her, since her own brother hadn't been useful – instead shouting and cursing the whole time and eventually threatening Hunter – and he had forced her to wear skinny jeans and some kind of fancy shirt that showed way too much skin for the time of the year. He had claimed she shouldn't wear a jacket or coat, so Hunter could put his own around her shoulders, but she had decided that was ridiculous and very unpractical, so she wore the leather jacket Nick had given her for her birthday. She was wearing the sneakers Jeff had bought her, though, but refused to call tem sneakers because they had heels and therefore weren't comfortable.

"You're late," Hunter sighed. He wore some simple jeans and a shirt. Jeff had definitely not been involving. "Also, if I say something about how you look, will you kill me?"

"You were just damn early. And yes, probably." She stopped in front of him.

Hunter shook his head. "Why did I ask you on a date again?" She raised an eyebrow. "Never mind. I like the make-up, though." Jeff's work as well. He had a sister – very useful. "Let's go. Finally," Hunter exclaimed.

Hunter was a bit more gentlemanlike after that. He actually opened some doors for her – not all, though – and drove her to the restaurant. She was even allowed to pick the music. This, he obviously regretted, when she put on an album of Linkin Park, effectively blocking their form of communication. When she stepped out of the car, she looked at the place they had stopped in front of and smiled slightly. No Breadstix. Instead, a Japanese sign hang above the doors, probably saying something about sushi.

"Bonus points," she told Hunter. "I love fish."

The captain seemed quite happy with himself. "Come on, I made a reservation."

Soon, they were sitting at a small table in a quiet corner. She had to admit, Hunter was a bit more romantic that she'd intentionally thought – but for her, that wasn't a necessarily good thing, since Marie-Claire was the kind of person who felt awkward when something became too romantic. Then again – this was Hunter Clarington. She knew how to handle the guy.

Silently, she looked at the boy. He was, she had to admit, quite handsome. That boys weren't her type didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a good body and Hunter definitely had one. His eyes were now focused on the menu, with a bit too much force – she realized he was nervous. His hands were shaking a bit, his fingers putting too much pressure on the table, his look being kept focused on the letters in front of him, not daring to look at her. She smirked and already had her mouth opened before she decided not to say anything. Instead, she studied his face. There was something about it, something unfamiliar. His greenish eyes stood tired, she saw, there were bags under his eyes and his skin was a bit pale, but it all was hardly noticeable. She smirked. Maybe Hunter had been even more nervous than she thought.

"So … how's life?" he eventually spoke.

She groaned. "Clarington, you ask me out at Christmas eve, then disappear for the whole vacation so the date weeks after, you don't apologize for it but just demand that I should go with you, not giving me any warning, just suddenly standing in front of my door. Jeff was freaking out – he had this all prepared for ages but you ruined his whole idea!"

"I gave you two hours," Hunter protested. "And your clothes look perfectly fine."

"Jeff needed more. He was seriously having a panic attack – I sent him to Nick," she said, giving Hunter a wink. "Can't you put them together as dance partners? We need to get them together, but they are usually the shippers from the Warblers. I mean, they got Kurt and Blaine together, only then they went to McKinley and Niff couldn't keep an eye on them anymore."

Hunter shook his head. "Why are we talking about other couples on _our _date?"

"They are much more interesting," she responded. "Anyway – life is fine, I guess. McKinley is hopeless, I get A's without studying and I skip some classes every week and still haven't been called to the Dean. I really just want to go to Dalton." She shrugged, drinking a bit of her coke and looking at Hunter.

He nodded softly. "And with … you know, your father?"

"Howard?" she repeated, then remaining silent for a while. She wasn't exactly sure why the conversation was going this way. She felt no need to talk about her father. He wasn't an issue in her life anymore and she didn't want him to be. But she understood why Hunter asked about him – he wanted to know if she really was fine. Clarington was a good captain, but maybe even a better friend. He knew when something was up and he just informed instead of turning around the subject. She licked her lips. "Well, he's in prison, surprisingly." She wondered what Hunter wanted to hear. And she wondered why the hell she was okay with talking about it. "I don't really see him. I'm out of his reach and I don't want to see him. Not yet. Maybe later on, but right now, when I see him, I would just want to kill him for doing all that shit to Sebastian and me."

"How was he, in court, I mean? What he ashamed, angry?" Hunter kept on informing.

She crossed her arms, leaned back in her chair. "He was … broken," she softly said. "I think he didn't realize how much he had fucked up until he was there, sitting in front of Sebastian and me, seeing and hearing our injuries. He didn't protest, he didn't do anything except for accepting what was said." She brought a hand up to her head, pulled it through her hair. "Fuck – now I think back… I think he was sorry. I think he agreed with the charges because he realized he hurt us and we weren't safe with him." Her eyes were burning and her throat dry, but she didn't let a tear come up. The realization dawned over her. "Before my mother died, he wasn't a bad father. Not the most caring, but not bad. I think he still isn't entirely."

"Did he know you guys were gay?"

She looked up, surprised by the unexpected question. "Yeah – he just accepted it, didn't really spoke about it," she answered truthfully.

Hunter, lost in thoughts, nodded. "Would you want to speak to him again, eventually?"

She focused her look on her fingertips, tapping on the table. "Perhaps…" she said, wondering if she wanted to. "Not yet. But he isn't that pure evil guy everyone thinks he is. I don't want him in my life anymore and I hate him for what he did to Sebastian. I'll never forgive him. But I wouldn't rule out seeing him again, speaking to him." She hesitated. "Why do you ask all this?" Right now, she added in her mind. Why do you ask all this right now, while we're at a date.

"Because you needed to voice it," Hunter answered confidently, having already expected the question. "You and Sebastian are really alike – you want to deal with your problems alone and even when you think you are changing and opening up to others, you still don't open your heart and show your true feelings."

She opened her mouth, wanting to protest, but the captain kept on talking.

"Sebastian told me what happened last year. In fact, he told me about basically his whole life. When he spoke about it, he was being just like you when you speak about your father or your past. Sarcastic, not being that serious, sounding uncaring. And you truly think that is the way to talk about it." Hunter rolled his eyes. "It doesn't help, you know. Acting as if it wasn't important. I know that. But just now, you talked about it seriously. How you really feel. Still uncertain, hurt, not sure what to do."

She bit her lip, suddenly realizing that Hunter was right. He was so right. And she felt relieved right now, having talked about it, having emptied her mind. A hesitant, small smile appeared on her face. "You're almost creepy, reading minds like that," she commented.

Hunter winced. "Let's say I know something about it." One look from him and she knew that now wasn't the time, even though they had just discussed her troubles, his eyes made clear that he wasn't going to talk about whatever he was referring to.

Instead, she took a piece of sushi. "Now, let's go back to date business," she said. "Having awkward silences, laughing very fake and feeding each other sushi – that's what they do at dates, right?" She raised an eyebrow.

"You really are pulled out of your comfort zone," Hunter grinned.

"Don't be so happy about it, bastard," she countered.

Hunter shook his head, an amused smile on his face. "At least you act like your age, for once," he shrugged. He stared at the sushi for a while, remained silent while she just went on eating, not going to waste the delicious fish. When the captain of the Warblers suddenly leaned forward, a devilish grin on his face, she moved instinctively back.

"What … what are you doing?" she muttered.

Hunter did a perfect copy of a Smythe's smirk and revealed his chopsticks, which held a piece of tuna. "Feeding you," he answered smugly.

* * *

They didn't go on another date after that. This had nothing to do with Hunter not trying, though – and neither with her refusing or Sebastian interfering, surprisingly. Instead, the captain of the Warblers had been incredibly busy and Marie-Claire herself too. Having friends sure took a toll on her time. She hang out with the New Directions more often, just as with some of the Warblers – most of the time Nick and Jeff. They'd tried to get Trent to join them, but the boy had only once accepted their offer to watch a movie or grab a coffee.

Tonight, Hunter had planned something at last. She wasn't yet sure what he was going to do, but she had become good at reading the boy. He had been acting different, eyeing her more, talking about random, light subjects when she was around. Often, she had chuckled his at obvious efforts to keep _something_ secret. She hadn't tried to find out what it was, though. Her problem at the moment wasn't Hunter's surprise, but Sebastian's big brother attitude. He hardly trusted Hunter – his _best friend_, for heavens sake – to do anything with her, let alone be in one room together. It was amusing and terribly tiring.

She was in the car, wondering why the hell she trusted Nick to drive while Jeff was in the backseat. Luckily, she had called out shotgun before the blonde could, successfully making their trip a bit more safer, though the risks of Niff together in one car could never be entirely dismissed. The couple – who called themselves _friends_, biggest lie in Dalton history – was singing along to a McFly song. Marie-Claire shook her head, not understanding the boy's obsession with the band. Sure, they had nice songs, but Nick and Jeff? They were the biggest fangirls in the world.

_Could you come over?_ _– Blaine_

She frowned at the message and shot a quick glance at the time. They were just twenty minutes on their way, they could turn around to get to her friend, she was sure the boys wouldn't mind. But she had seen Blaine an hour ago and everything had been perfectly fine. Or this was a situation like the one she had two weeks ago, with Blaine being ill and Tina vaporaping him in his sleep. Damn, she was glad she had come to check on him, then. Claire had the suspicion Tina had a crush on Blaine and it bothered her. The Asian girl was slowly growing on her, but she still had her moments of hatred towards the girl and trusting her was absolutely _not _an option.

_Please? – Blaine_

She rolled her eyes. "Nick, we have to go back," she announced, not even bothering to ask if the boy was fine with it. He didn't even hear her over his music, though. "Nick!" she shouted. The boy glanced at her and she turned the volume down. "Damn, you are so incompetent."

"Hey! Don't –"

"Shut up, Jeff, I'm not hurting your lover." Both boys huffed at the comment. She smirked. "We have to go back," she repeated her words, raising an eyebrow and gesturing towards her phone.

Nick groaned. "Do we? Come on, we're so close to Dalton now," he complained.

"Emergency," she shrugged, uncaring.

"You could be a bit more thankful," the brown haired Warbler shook his head – to his credit turning the car around easily, heading back to Lima. "What's the emergency? It's doesn't sound very … emergent."

She raised an eyebrow on the use of the word. "Something with Blaine," she answered then, knowing this would get the attention of the driver – and his friend. And indeed, Jeff leaned forward while Nick speeded up the car. She smiled satisfied. "I'm not sure," she said before either one of them could ask her the obvious question. "He was fine an hour ago, not ill or something."

"Maybe he has a bowtie dilemma," Jeff wondered.

She shook her head. "He has dropped the bowties."

At least she had their attention now. The green eyed girl smiled, then started talking, telling the boys about Klaine, Blam and even Blina. Niff was silent and listened. They could be good boys, for a little while. Of course, ten minutes later they were shouting along with some crazy love song that only existed out of the lyrics 'it's all about you' and Jeff was excitedly adding information about some kind of wedding speech during the instrumental parts.

Somehow, when she rang Blaine's doorbell, she was still alive. Traumatized for life, knowing everything about where to hit Jeff so he would shut up and how to get Nick to concentrate on the road, but she was still walking, they hadn't gotten in a car accident. She wasn't sure if she would ever step in a car with the boys again, though. This time had been worse than the others.

She forgot all about the trip when Blaine opened the door though. He looked just like the weeks after the break-up with Hummel. His face was pale, he was wearing sweatpants and that was all – not socks, no shirt. A normal, sane Blaine Anderson would open the door like this. Especially when he had no gel in his hair. She repeated – no gel.

Not bothering to say hi or to await his invitation, she stepped inside, quickly closing the door behind her. Then, she could puzzled at Blaine, wondering what to do. She didn't know his house very well. Luckily, he took the lead. "Thanks," he said, smiling halfheartedly. "Come on, upstairs."

When they were finally sitting on his bed, she pulled her legs up and folded her arms around them, giving Blaine a serious look. He had been very quiet. "What's wrong?" she asked, a thousand thoughts running through her head. "Was it Hummel? If Hummel did something, I swear to a god I don't believe in that I'll just kick his gay ass. _Again_," she threatened.

Blaine looked shocked. She almost burst out into laughter because his face was priceless, but she couldn't forget the situation. "Kurt did nothing! He's wonderful, he did nothing wrong, Christmas was great and we're friends and we talk and – what do you mean, _again_?" he frowned, suddenly looking even more worried.

"Calm down, killer," she smirked. "No need to worry. I didn't actually kick his ass – I could have, but it didn't seem right at the time. I just made sure he knew exactly what he was throwing away and … you know, the usual shit, that he shouldn't torture you and stuff." She felt a bit awkward about telling Blaine this. It seemed like a weakness.

Instead, he smiled – tiredly, but he smiled. "Well talk about this later. Just – he is good for me. We're friends, so – no more 'talks', okay?" he stared at her. She raised her hands defensively and nodded. He sighs. "MC, do you know why I came to Dalton in the first place?"

She hesitates. Of course, there were rumors. And there was the truth. She wasn't exactly sure what Blaine wanted from her. She was one of the only people who knew that Blaine had been beaten up by some homophobic assholes – David had told her, worried that the ex-Warbler would get into trouble without Hummel at McKinley. Marie-Claire had promised David to keep an eye on Blaine, just when she was a week in Glee club and the guy had noticed that she was friends with the gel haired boy. It was made very clear that not many people knew about this, though. Only real friends. "You got beaten up, right?" she eventually said.

Blaine just nodded.

A thought ran through her mind, turned her blood cold. "Did someone hurt you?" she said. "Blaine, were you assaulted?" Her voice had turned demanding. She knew very fine that her reaction might be slightly extreme, but right now, she couldn't take another beating. They could manage a few weeks without hospitals, right? It wasn't unearthly to ask.

"No! No!" Blaine shook his head. "It's just… Tina… There is going to be a Sadie Hawkins."

She was silent, waiting for him to continue, but he didn't. "So?" she wanted to know.

"I got beaten up at a Sadie Hawkins. You know – beaten up like … badly. I got knocked out at the street and woke up in a hospital. Never heard of my date again, switched schools immediately. I didn't have the courage to stand up against my bullies." He winced at the word courage, as if it was a taboo to say.

She understood. She understood why he had come to her – she had been beaten up so many times now. She understood why the Sadie Hawkins bothered him – she didn't even want to be in her own house. Slowly, a bit doubtful, she moved over to Blaine putting an arm around him. "You don't have to go," she offered.

"I do," Blaine protested. "I'm the captain of the Glee club, school president, leader of the superheroes club –"

"Fuck, does that still exist? I thought that crap was behind –"

"_Claire_."

"Oh, yes, sorry. Please start your mental breakdown now, I always find it easier when those are over, then you can focus on the real problem." Blaine tried to glare at her, but he couldn't keep a straight face and laughed. She smiled in satisfaction, having reached what she wanted to do. She took a deep breath, trying to figure out what to do in this situation. Blaine had actually asked her to help. This was new to her – lately, she had helped people, but that was because they were either having a breakdown in front of her or being beaten up and almost unconscious. They never texted her to ask if she could come by and offer tissues while they could cry their eyes out.

Maybe she should make tea. And get a tissue box.

"You have never had any problems with being gay at McKinley, right?"

Blaine raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged. "I mean – real problems. Physical."

"You know, insults –"

"– can hurt just as much or even more as punches. Yeah, yeah, I know the crap. Well, believe me, I have experience in both. Receiving and giving. Usually, the punches hurt _a bit _more." She ignored the softening in Blaine's eyes. She didn't want his pity. She didn't want anyone's pity – she made that clear. The Smythe just wasn't a person to carefully avoid touchy subjects. "You were never beaten here, or threatened?"

"No, not _me_…" Blaine started hesitantly. "But Kurt…"

"Yeah, the whole shit situation with Karofsky."

The homo in front of her shook his head. "Do you know everything?" he exclaimed.

"I try to keep up to date. And remember my brother accidentally caused that guy to commit suicide? Okay, attempt it, but that's basically the same thing, only without the fune- never mind." She cursed herself. Sometimes, her fast tongue was horrible and she realized it all too well. "Anyway, yes, I even visited him in the hospital. Kind of."

Blaine shot her a questioning look.

"Not important, long story," she shook her head. "Back to the point. Sadie Hawkins."

"I don't even know why I called you." Blaine hid his face in his hands.

She smirked. "Because I think of a proper solution and won't start singing to fix everything."

"I just don't know what to do," Blaine sighed. "I mean, you know, it's just that I don't know what to expect. I have never been in such situation before. Yes, I did other school dances and eventually got used to them, but those weren't … Sadie Hawkins dances. It's different and I don't want to go through the same again or have a breakdown in the middle of the dance-"

"Blaine, you're overreacting," she cut him off. He looked hurt, but she shook her head. "Look," she started, raising from her place and standing in front of him. "A normal school dance and a Sadie Hawkins are exactly the same thing, only in this case the girl asks the boy. The thing you should be worrying about is who you are going with, because this school won't react differently to you when the dance is called another name. And even if someone did or even if you have a breakdown, I promise you, I'll get you out of there." The last words passed her lips before she could stop herself, but the look her green eyes gave Blaine were enough for him to understand that she meant have not meant to _say _it, but she certainly meant the message.

He smiled nervously. "Thanks, MC," he responded softly. "I'll just have to find a date…"

"Too bad Lady Hummel is out of town, so she can't ask you. It would have been nice, you would have played by the Sadie Hawkins rules in that case." She ignored the mutterings from Blaine, claiming that Hummel wasn't a girl. It was a good thing he was finally not wincing when she mentioned his ex. She eyed her friend for a while, silently, then added: "Sam will go with Brittany, you know that, right?"

His confused eyes met hers, but she smiled reassuringly. She wouldn't tell anyone, though it was a miracle that his crush on Sam hadn't been obvious to everyone. A sigh escaped his lips and he rested a hand on his forehead. "Yeah, I know…" he whispered softly.

She smiled. "I'm your backup, Blaine. There is no way you're going to that dance alone."

He laughed tiredly. "Thanks, MC. You're nice. For a Smythe."

She grinned. "Get some sleep, Anderson. I'll find the way out myself. Niff is waiting."

Blaine's eyes widened a bit when he heard the names of his – former? – friends, but didn't respond immediately. She walked towards the door and her hand was already on the handle when she heard his soft voice. "Marie-Claire?" She stopped. "Sam and I, we figured out…"

"What?" she turned around slightly, raising an eyebrow, but Blaine shook his head.

"Never mind. I'll see you at Glee club."

* * *

The Lima Bean was crowded. Sebastian, Nick and Jeff had managed to get a place, now waiting for their drinks to arrive. She had just walked into the coffee shop, later than the Warblers, since she had had Glee club before. When Hunter had texted her to have coffee, she had expected him to come alone, but then again, her brother had probably forced his presence upon them, not trusting his little sister to be alone with his best friend.

She rolled her eyes, taking a step towards the counter. "Hi," she started.

"Hi there. Skinny white café mocha? Without cream?" the girl responded.

Marie-Claire raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah. Size…"

"… medium, I know," the blond haired girl once again finished.

She shook her head. "I come here too often…"

The girl didn't respond on that, though. Instead, she stared at something that was happening to their right, her eyes round. Marie-Claire frowned – she heard familiar shouting. Already suspecting what was happening, she turned around … to see Hunter Clarington have a major breakdown in the middle of the Lima Bean.

"Oh crap…" she muttered, glancing at Sebastian, whose eyes were focused on her.

"I freaking hate Splenda!" Hunter.

"Oh fuck." Herself.

"MC!" Sebastian.

"You might want to do something." The blonde barista who knew her coffee order.

"Bastard," she whispered before moving forward. From the corners of her eye, she saw Sebastian instructing Nick, while Jeff clung onto his best friend, and then her brother ran off towards her. Hunter was going outside, fast. The Smythes shared a quick look, then sprinted after their friend.

Hunter had already crossed the street and sat down on a bank before they had reached him. He had buried his face into his hands, breathing heavily. Sebastian gave Marie-Claire a helpless look, but she didn't exactly know what to do herself.

The Smythes had already realized there was something up with Hunter. He had built walls around him, very much alike the siblings themselves, and could appear cold and uncaring, while he eventually warmed up a bit for his newfound friends. There were expressions he had and some simple things he said that made the Smythes suspicious, though they hadn't proved truthful until two weeks ago, when the nightmares started. Sebastian had been the first to find out, but Claire didn't come soon after, finding her friend screaming on his bed, his face pale and sweat on his forehead. They hadn't spoken about it, not with Hunter, not with the Warblers. Only the two of them sometimes had conversations, concerned for their friend. He had been getting less sleep lately, snapping at the Warblers more often and only being civil to Sebastian, Claire and Jeff – no one could be angry with the blonde.

Now, the boiling point was reached.

It was Sebastian who moved first, sitting down next to his captain, but not touching him. She came forward slowly, sitting down on the other side and putting an arm around the guy. He had always appeared so strong, but like everyone, he had his weaknesses. Both Smythes tried to ignore the tears in his eyes when they sat next to him, not saying anything, just their presence comforting.

When Nick and Jeff appeared some time later, Sebastian just shook his head and the friends nodded, taking the hint and walking away – but not before handing Marie-Claire her coffee, on which she frowned. Half an hour after that, Hunter suddenly moved, standing up and walking towards the car. Sebastian sighed. "He's not going to tell us any time soon, is he?"

She bit her lip. "Nope."

Neither of them dared to suggest to just ask the Warblers' soloist.

* * *

She really couldn't keep up to the drama.

McKinley – Blaine and Tina were both crushing on people they couldn't ever get.

Dalton – Trent was acting awfully distant and skipped on most practices.

McKinley – All the guys were anxious because of the Sadie Hawkins.

Dalton – Hunter was having more breakdowns and the Warblers were noticing.

McKinley – Loser girls couldn't even have loser guys.

Dalton – Nick and Jeff still weren't together.

Also, above all of this, the Sadie Hawkins was this evening. And she just realized she hadn't even asked someone and she was supposed to go, because she had promised Blaine, even though he was suddenly going with Tina – something she was _not_ feeling rejected about. She wasn't. Honestly. Just a bit … irritated that Blaine was going to the Sadie Hawkins with his crush who totally forgot about the fact that very same dance was the reason why he went to Dalton.

So, of course she could ask Hunter to go with her and she was quite sure he would say yes, but the guy looked more and more miserable with the day. He was pale and had huge bags under his eyes. She couldn't take him to a dance when she had to be afraid for him collapsing right in front of her. Also, the New Directions wouldn't approve her bringing the leader of the Warblers to McKinley. The same could be said about every single Warblers she could ask to go with her.

Which meant that she was pretty much lost. Even Noah Puckerman, _Puck_, already had someone to go with – she very much tried to ignore that this was Kitty Wilde of all people – while he wasn't even at that school anymore. All her friends were taken and she didn't particularly feel like going with someone who wasn't a friend of hers, because in that case it would feel like a date, which she didn't want.

Damn.

She would have never thought she would be worrying about a school dance.

* * *

"Hi MC, why are you calling? I thought you were at the Sadie Hawkins dance."

"I am. Bas, the Warblers – _we are in trouble_."


	12. Naked

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE  
**Not so important actually (_read on, you_) but, as every fanfiction writer, I am shamelessly addicted to reviews and it broke my heart to notice that no one reviewed on last chapter. Really, I'd like to say things such as 'if you don't review, I won't write' but yeah... I love writing this too much for that. **Anyway, it would be REALLY TOTALLY AWESOME if you would review. **I'm already using capital letters, sooner or later I will go on my knees without embarrassment (okay, a little). Okay, now lets pretend I didn't just say all of this and go back to MC.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

**Song(s) used: **Uhm. Ahum. ...

* * *

**Naked**

"_Being a part of something special makes you special."_

* * *

Sebastian paced around angrily in the room, his hands folded behind his back, his brow furrowed deeply. The smirk was far gone from his lips, his tongue constantly moving, muttering thousand silent curses while his green eyes stormed furiously. In contrast to his temper, his face was deathly pale. His hair messy, not a single trace of gel to be found in the long brown locks. He was wearing his Dalton uniform, but had loosened the tie and the jacket was hanging over the back of a chair, his shirt half open, out of his pants.

Her brother didn't even acknowledge her – he hadn't for a good hour. The waiting was unbearable, but they couldn't do something else. She was sitting on the couch in the hallway, in front of the room of the Dean. Her hands were clenched into fists, lying defeated on her legs. In a useless try to look more mature, she had chosen to wear the navy blue dress, together with the leather jacket – and sneakers, because she wasn't going to walk on heels for the Dean, not after all the crap that that woman had put the Warblers and her through. Most of her hair, that had grown quite long in the past months, reaching a little over shoulder length, had escaped the pony tail in her neck, hanging in front of her eyes, but she didn't bother the pull the locks behind her ear.

"Bas, I think –"

"No, definitely not. I'm not going to let that happen."

"And what if –"

"Don't even think about that."

Silence.

Both the Smythes almost literally jumped in the air when Hunter suddenly stormed out of the room, his face dark. Before either one of them could reach him or even say anything, he slowed down a bit and turned partly. "Just fuck off," he snapped, his voice threatening, but his posture tired. His shoulder were hanging and his fists were clenched weakly. Without waiting for an answer, he basically ran towards the exit, leaving the siblings dumbstruck behind.

Just when Sebastian opened his mouth, the door was opened once again and the tired face of the Dean appeared. She put up a fake smile and gestured the two of them to come in, which they did, after a shared look and a hesitant glance over their shoulders. Though both the brother and sister rather would follow their friend, the best choice was to have the long dreaded talk with the Dean. So they came inside the room and sat down on the chairs in front of the desk, Sebastian crossing his arms while she again rested them folded on her legs.

"The Warblers are disqualified," the Dean stated after a moment of silence.

"We did not _cheat_!" the siblings immediately protested, Sebastian grabbing the arms of the chair while Marie-Claire moved to the edge of her seat. In both their green eyes flamed the same anger, but the Dean in front of them – a lady from in her fifties, named Charlotte Gray – did not even blink.

"Hunter Clarington has been in court and the Warblers have been found guilty," she went on talking in a steady voice, though it didn't escape Claire that she didn't directly look at them. "They are disqualified and their victory has been given to the former Nationals winners, the New Directions. We can find it lucky that this is the only punishment the Warblers have been given. However, after the events of last year, the school counsel has decided that the Warblers are more trouble than they do good and we have decided, after a long time of consideration, that the show choir of Dalton is to be disbanded."

"You _cannot _do this!" Marie-Claire replied furiously while Sebastian turned deathly pale beside her, not saying a word. "We did _not_ cheat! The Warblers are innocent and I don't care what kind of bullshit the court has come up with, it is a lie." She shook her head, not able to believe what was going on.

It was only a few days ago that she had called Sebastian in the hallway of McKinley, the same evening as the Sadie Hawkins dance – the same evening she had suddenly seen _Trent_ in the public school, the usually bright guy walking around, constantly staring over his shoulder in some kind of paranoia. Following him, she had heard his conversation with Blaine, Sam and Finn. It had been that moment she contacted her brother, feeling like a mess, probably also sounding like a mess, because the Warblers were her home but the New Directions had turned into her friends and she didn't want to lose faith in either one, but there had to be a lying side. Sebastian and Hunter had picked her up, the two boys mostly concerned for her – she must have been a mess, but she couldn't even remember – but the latter also seeming upset. Still, the three of them were mostly angry. Marie-Claire had soon realized she couldn't _not_ believe the Warblers, her family. So, Blaine and Sam had to be lying, or – as she told herself, hoping it to be the truth – badly informed.

Her hope had quite faded away when Sebastian and she had made some harsh comments on cheating and some remarks on their newfound attitudes, but Hunter had only weakly laughed with them, his eyes far too serious to only consider the accusation wrong. Sebastian had noticed as well and as soon as he had parked the car at Dalton, he had just asked his best friend what was going on.

The answer had been a running off Hunter. After that, they hadn't spoken much to the boy, only seeing him when he had to leave for another day at court. Sebastian, as co-captain, had felt obligated to go as well, but Hunter had – in that one minute they saw him – pleaded him not to go. And her brother had listened. Marie-Claire had been called ill at McKinley and stayed at Dalton all the days, having emergency meetings with the Warblers and contacting the Dean and the school counsel. The boys and she had dealt with the disgusted looks being thrown their way, all having the faith that the court case would prove their innocence, because they were innocent. Trent hadn't been mentioned the whole time. Betrayal was something that hurt badly, especially when it came from a brother in arms.

And now the Dean told Sebastian and her that the Warblers would be disbanded.

"Ms Smythe, please calm down," the Dean said soothingly, but there was a hard line at her jaw proving she had difficulty with something. Her grey eyes stood coldly. "There is nothing you can do about this and you will be glad to hear the counsel has decided these events won't have any consequences regarding your stay here at Dalton."

Sebastian snorted. "Are you kidding me? You are honestly going to pretend like you have nothing to do with this shit?" he asked unbelieving. Marie-Claire glanced at her brother, not knowing what point he was trying to make. "Mr Gray, do you think I wouldn't know when a needle is being pressed in my ass? When my friends are being injected by one of my best friends? When you very own show choir is on _drugs_? This is ridiculous."

"As I recall, Trent did know this," the Dean responded coolly.

Sebastian made a disgusted sound. "_Trent_ is a traitor. I have no idea what he thinks he is doing or saying, but it sure as hell isn't the truth. It is one person against about twenty others. Who would you trust?" The Smythe relaxed his tense body a little, sat back crossing his arms once again, glaring at the Dean.

She now stared back emotionless. "Trent is a respected student at Dalton and a part of the student counsel. He is a senior who has done nothing wrong in his entire school career and he has always spoken the truth. I put this against a boy about whom has been rumored that he has done some shady things the last year and a boy who is a newcomer at Dalton and –" She stopped herself, hesitating and showing doubt for the first time. "Who is a newcomer at Dalton and has anger issues."

Sebastian's eyes widened. "Oh."

Marie-Claire had followed the conversation with interest, the crack in the Dean's mask not escaping her. She turned towards her brother and gave him a critical eyes, wondering what had dawned upon him. "What?" she prompted. "What is it?"

Her brother shook his head. "I get it know. Hunter, right?" The Dean's face paled. "No, no, I understand, _Ms Gray_." He spoke the last words with venom, then remained silent for a while, obviously thinking about something. "I know what is going on with him. I even think … I have a very good shot at the truth. Which means that Dalton is in a very tight corner." The green eyed boy raised an eyebrow. "I won't say anything…"

The Dean sighed relieved.

"… if the Warblers are to exist," Sebastian finished, a twinkle in his eyes.

What followed was an intense stare between the older, stricken woman and the younger, composed guy. Marie-Claire still sat next to them, glancing at both sides, wondering what the hell they were talking about and why they couldn't just stop their mysterious shit to inform her a little. She wasn't about to interrupt though, because what she could understand was that her brother was blackmailing the Dean into having the Warblers and this was a good thing, she supposed.

"Mr Smythe," the Dean started hesitantly.

Sebastian raised a hand, his glare deadly serious. "I'm not messing around. It is _not _their fault and you can't blame them for something they didn't do. I won't tell anyone the truth, but only if the Warblers can keep up the tradition."

Mr Gray silently nodded after a moment of silence. "You don't give me a choice. But, I warn you, Mr Smythe, you can not take this any further." She wrote something down on her notebook, putting thin glasses on her nose. "I do have to ask you to not contact Hunter Clarington, though. You cannot see him, nor talk to him. He is going to be the first student in Dalton history to be expelled."

"But…" Marie-Claire started, but Sebastian cut her off.

"He has made a mistake, Ms Gray, but so has the school counsel. You can't pretend like you have no hand in this at all. It's not all Hunter's fault and I know that, so do the Warblers, so does Marie-Claire, so do _you_. To send him away would be a stupid decision, he would have all the freedom to begin a court case against you, and he'd probably win. Also, I don't have to tell you what that might do to Dalton's reputation. It's bad now, but it can be worse." Claire had heard her brother angry before, but he had never spoken with such authority. Though she had no idea what was going on, Sebastian certainly had, or he was bluffing, which was a good possibility as well. His tone was threatening and perfectly in control. She noticed that the Dean was impressed and taken back.

The woman didn't look directly at Sebastian. "I suggest we speak with the two of –"

"My sister can hear everything what is going on," Sebastian protested smoothly. "I will tell her anyway and she is old enough to know when to keep her mouth shut. Especially if that's going to keep Hunter at Dalton. Ms Gray, _I suggest_ the Warblers can decide over his fate, just like what happened to me last year."

Ms Gray frowned. "He has done them nothing wrong. There is no way where the Warblers would want him away from Dalton."

"Exactly my point," Sebastian smirked. "Ms Gray, it was a pleasure talking to you, but as I now can see it, nothing has changed, has there? The Warblers are disqualified, yes, but the group will keep existing, Hunter and I will keep leading this and my sister stays here at Dalton. Am I right?"

A hard look appeared in the eyes of the Dean. "You are," she answered carefully, accepting Sebastian's hand, shaking it firmly before offering hers to Marie-Claire. A displeased expression was on her face, but the Smythe took her hand anyway, smiling a bit too broadly. Sebastian had nicely informed her that everything was going to be okay – in a way. That was all she needed to know now.

Walking out of the room, into the hallway, she turned her head towards her brother. He didn't look at her, instead was busy with his phone, texting several people separately. Claire noticed he was contacting some of the Warblers, though not through the group chat. She raised an eyebrow, shooting a look full of questions at Sebastian, who just shrugged and ignored her. She huffed. "Sebastian, what is going on with Hunter?" she prompted.

He slowed down a bit, putting his phone in his back pocket. "A lot of shit," he answered vaguely, but when he saw her look, he quickly added some information. "Nothing that has to do with drugs or steroids, I promise you. Look, I'll explain, but first we need to fix things with the Warblers, because it's getting out of hand. They are wary and now think others _have_ used steroids."

"Which we didn't, of course," Nick suddenly appeared, walking next to Sebastian while Jeff came on the side of Marie-Claire, winking at her, his goofy smile still plastered on his face, even during the current events. "Most of the Warblers are in the choir room, Bas," the brown haired Warblers informed his co-captain. "David is giving an interview right now, with Flint as back-up. Thad and Luke are talking to the student counsel, James is checking up on Trent – doing nothing, I swear, just making sure he is okay, since some of the Warblers looked pretty murderous – and Meatbox is keeping an eye on the others in the room. Hunter…" He looked at Jeff and nodded.

"We have found him, eventually," Jeff started reporting. "Henry is making sure he is okay. He isn't in his room though. We looked there first, of course, but he didn't even go there after his talk with the Dean, though he did pass by the door. We think he hesitated, but eventually went on walking. His door is locked, we couldn't get in at first, but Henry managed to get a key from the janitor and we looked around, but there was nothing much important to find. A normal teenager dorm room, though a bit too tidy. We couldn't find a passport or any papers, which means he either has them at his house, with him or somewhere else locked up. Anyway, since there was nothing to find, we tried to find him and found out he went outside…"

"Which he isn't allowed, we heard," Nick added. "Did you bring the voice recorder?"

Sebastian got a small microphone out of his pocket, showed the boys and smiled. "It worked perfectly, didn't it?" he asked. Jeff gave him a thumbs up, while his sister made a helpless gesture. The older Smythe smirked. "The Dalton Academy Warblers have a quite advanced espionage system, MC," he told her. "We managed to record the conversation Hunter had with the Dean – as well as our conversation. Both didn't learn us much new, though we could handle faster now Nick and Jeff learned everything the minute we did."

Marie-Claire shook her head unbelievingly, licking her lips. "You guys are crazy. Sebastian, now I get where you get your blackmail material from. I thought I was good, but…"

"You have much to learn, sis," Sebastian grinned. "This wasn't just for blackmail, though. Ever since the Klaine affaire three years ago, when Blaine suddenly left Dalton, the Warblers decided they wanted to keep up to date to what was happening to their members and studied some spy movies and series for a while. It clearly worked, but I don't use it for blackmail. Not even now – I didn't hear the conversation with Hunter, I just already knew what was going on." They headed towards the choir room.

Nick grinned. "Sebastian texted us even during blackmailing the Dean – he _does_ have some skills, but most of it was team work. We arranged a meeting in the choir room. David and Flint are telling the news that the Warblers indeed are disqualified, but will keep on existing. They won't give any news about Hunter. Thad is explaining the 'fake' situation to the student counsel, together with Luke. The truth will only be revealed to the Warblers," he said mysteriously.

Marie-Claire sighed and rubbed her temples. "And to me, I hope. Because I sure as hell don't understand what is going on. The 'fake' situation is the steroids stuff?" The guys next to her nodded. "The truth, we will find out, but it has something to do with Hunter and probably some kind of illegal deal with the school counsel, otherwise Bas wouldn't be able to blackmail them." Her brother smiled proudly. "The news is being dealt with, the student counsel is, that probably to prevent escalating rumors?" Again the boys agreed. "The meeting is to finally tell us shit."

Sebastian put an arm around her, pulling her close. "That's my sister. I taught you well."

"Science of deduction, my dear Watson," she responded smugly.

When they entered the choir room, it was chaos. Warblers – and non-Warblers, somehow – were shouting at them, there was a freshman crying, Meatbox was standing in the middle trying to keep everyone calm, while Thad and Luke entered loudly announcing their talk had been successful and that they hadn't lost their VIP rights yet. Sebastian threw his hands in the air, while Nick sided next to Jeff.

David came walking in as well, shaking his head darkly. "We need a gavel for this."

Thad nodded, standing next to him with his arms crossed. "And Wes."

"Or us," Flint and Meatbox suddenly spoke up, winking at Sebastian, who gestured to them to do whatever they were thinking about. The two boys grinned at each other. "Shut the fuck up damn assholes!" they shouted at the same time.

That got the attention.

Sebastian immediately jumped on a table – something that even sharpened the attention, since Blaine had done this all the time, too. "Bless non-cursing Dalton boys," her brother smirked. "You are so innocent. First order of business. Non-Warblers, get the fuck out of here. We know every single person in the group and we sure aren't with thirty." He glared at some of the boys, who quickly ran away. Satisfied, the co-captain of the Warblers and current person in charge nodded.

Marie-Claire looked around in the room. Most of the Warblers were sitting down now, either on the ground or on the couches. She settled down on the table Sebastian was standing on, having a nice overview. The other guys were all in front of them. Sebastian looked at them sternly, the serious look on his face sobering all of them up. Claire counted quickly – Hunter wasn't there, so that made fourteen boys, excluding her. Everyone was present. She glanced at her brother, noticing that he was studying the boys, checking if they were trustworthy. They both knew the boys were. She stood up, closed the door and sat down again.

"The Warblers are disqualified," Sebastian announced. A soft muttering was the only reaction, but the boys quickly fell silent again. She loved them for this, keeping their emotions in control and having faith in what was to come. It was an attitude she missed with the New Directions. "Everyone, _everyone_, thinks we have cheated by using steroids. Which, as you all know, isn't the case. None of us did that. Hunter, neither." He remained silent for a while. "But I'm going to ask you to keep up the lie."

Now everyone was indignant, to say the least. Some of them looking murderous, others whispered, their lips moving in a way that looked suspiciously like 'Trent'. Rick, a respected member of the Warblers, as they actually all were, but a slightly less controlled one, made the move to stand up, but David pulled him back, shaking his head.

Sebastian sighed. "I don't know why Trent has decided to betray us like this. I'm going to ask you all, though, not to treat him rudely. Ignoring is allowed, we can't possibly treat him the same as first and he won't be a Warblers again anytime soon, but there is going to be no blackmailing, bullying, threatening or anything like that. We – I – have learned that lesson last year. We could see this as payback. We aren't going to fight against the decision of the court, instead respecting it. The Warblers will go on with singing and dancing, and next year we, you, are going to make a spectacular come-back. Now, going back to the lies and the truth. We didn't cheat consciously, however, we did cheat in another way."

Marie-Claire's head snapped up and her green eyes pierced her brother.

"Hunter was paid to come to Dalton to lead us to a Nationals victory. This is against not only the school rules, but also those of the show choir competition. It is considered more gravely than using steroids. This is why I ask you to keep silent about it and accept our treatment. Hunter can get a lot of crap for it, as well as the school and not to mention the Warblers in general, even though we didn't know it."

There was more to the story. She saw it in the eyes of her brother. He purposely ignored her, though, and she knew that she would have to wait a little longer, until after the meeting. The other Warblers, resentful as they were, seemed to agree with Sebastian. Some of them nodded, though other just sat quietly.

"We don't know who went to the judge to get us disqualified." A lie, Sebastian. But she appreciated the fact that he wanted to protect the New Directions – _her _show choir. Every single person in the room was aware of the fact that no one else than Blaine Anderson, former soloist and respected student of Dalton, had turned them in. "They showed a video of Hunter having an anger attack. We all know he deals with some anger issues and he has probably been on the edge because of his illegal contract with the school. The pictures of our changed faces weren't photo-shopped – I think we can just congratulate ourselves on the fact that our military academy training showed off." No one laughed at the lame joke. "Trent was the last part of the evidence. As I said, I – we – do not know why he has done it, but he has had his reasons and we should at least leave him alone."

David stepped forward. "I have handled the journalists and I am going to ask you to not speak to them. No answering, not even going obvious information. If they stalk you, contact me and I'll deal with them. Apart from that, I want to say I want to go on with the Warblers and accept that we are disqualified. I stand beside Sebastian and Hunter."

Thad rose from the couch. "The student counsel will tell a softer version of the steroids story to all the other students. Some of the teacher and the whole student body believe the steroids to be true. The only persons who know the truth are the ones in this room, Hunter and a small part of the school counsel. Please don't use this information for your own good and don't gossip about it. I also stand beside Sebastian and Hunter."

Nick walked towards the table and stopped in front of it, turning around. "We know where Hunter is and have decided to give him some space. Just don't stalk him with questions or go to him more than often. It's hard dealing with all this shit for him, too. I stand beside Sebastian and Hunter."

Jeff jumped up, clapping his hands. "Only thing left to do if to decide on one thing. Whether Hunter can stay in the Warblers, or not. The Warblers have been given this decision and please treat it with the same carefulness as last year with Sebastian. Just think about it and stand up if you agree that he can stay." He smiled brightly. "I stand beside Sebastian and Hunter."

Flint, Meatbox and Luke immediately rose, standing beside Sebastian – who had jumped off the table –, David, Thad, Nick and Jeff. Marie-Claire was a bit slower, though not due any mind struggles, but just her interest in the situation, but moved next to the boys as well. Luke and James followed, Henry too, Rick, and it took only a few minutes for all the Warblers to stand up, look at each other and voice what they had been thinking all along.

"Once a Warbler, always a Warbler."

The next thing she knew, David and Jeff burst out in a song – which sounded suspiciously much like One Direction, _again_ – and she was being dragged out of the room by Sebastian and Nick. Quickly, she figured out they had to be going to Hunter – she recognized the look in her brothers eyes.

"Where is he?" she and Sebastian demanded to know at the same time.

Nick waved with his iPhone. "Not sure where, Henry saw him going into a bar, but then he had to come back for the meeting. I think Hunter is still there though, he's probably drinking all his trouble away," he answered vaguely. "I'll drive us."

Sure enough, they soon sat in his car, Sebastian shotgun and she in the middle in the back, biting her lips when thinking about the terribly confusing situation. Fake stories, true stories, the truth was a secret, the shameful lie they tried to keep alive. "Are you going to explain the Hunter deal to me?" she questioned her brother, her eyes piercing his.

He nodded slowly. "I'm not exactly sure what is going on myself. He just let some things slip and the Dean only made me more certain of what is going on. First things first – Hunter is older than we think. He isn't a junior, but probably got kicked out of school as one, a few years ago. He is twenty-one right now."

Well fuck. She had been dating with a guy five years older than her.

"I think he got expelled due an anger attack – it would seem logical. Anyway, it wasn't a military academy, as we thought, and he never performed in a show choir. He did have something to do with music, though, I'm not sure what, but it caused Dalton to make a deal with him. They wanted him to lead the Warblers to a Nationals victory and paid him for it – which is, of course, prohibited, and also Dalton isn't allowed to have students older than twenty, so the deal was illegal. Hunter stressed a bit because of it and I think there is something else going on, something that caused him to have more panic attacks, but yeah, I don't know that," Sebastian finished the explanation.

"So in short, Hunter got kicked out of school, then, while he was twenty-one, got paid to go to Dalton, got some stress, something got discovered by Blaine and Sam, so they warned the authorities and suddenly we get disqualified for using drugs? That's bullshit," she concluded angrily.

Nick coughed. "_Trent_ betrayed us and lied."

Sebastian's look darkened. "I have no idea why he would do that."

"I do," the other Warbler answered. Now he had the attention of the Smythes. He shrugged. "It's nothing more than a theory. But you know, the Warblers did change. After Blaine left, we were betrayed and could do nothing right. Then you appeared, Sebastian, and took control, changing us – song choice, attitude, choreography. Apart from all the trouble that came with it…" Sebastian winced, but Nick gave him a pointed look. "… for which we already have forgiven you … it was hard for Trent."

"Why?" Sebastian prompted, rubbing his eyes gently.

Marie-Clair e snorted, suddenly the whole theory becoming brighter and more clear. "Don't you get it?" she asked, glancing at Nick, who nodded sternly. "Trent isn't … the most athletic guy, or the most standard. Though there is a no-bullying policy, it doesn't mean that there aren't cliques. I know for sure that Trent couldn't belong in another clique, he just doesn't fit. That's why he had the Warblers."

"Then why would he betray us…?" Sebastian sighed.

She frowned. "The Warblers changed. His best friend left him, suddenly, for a boy he had just met. Trent stayed behind, alone. Haven't you noticed that he doesn't quite belong in a certain couple in the Warblers? Every Warblers has a side-kick, it seems. David and Thad, Nick and Jeff, Flint and Meatbox – Hunter and you, even. Trent got around with all of you, was good friends, but Blaine, his side-kick, left. Also, your whole performance attitude changed. More intensive dancing when you joined, Sebastian, and that got even more intensive when Hunter joined. Trent has a hard time keeping up with that. He liked the former Warblers, with cheesy songs and just some hand clapping and swinging, the classy schoolboys – not the powerful performers you are now."

"That's right," Nick joined in. "And I think he has gotten some troubles, lately. Maybe he knew a bit of what Hunter had done, maybe he just had some problems at home, but he has gotten more distant. Then, he started talking to Blaine again. He really misses him and after the eye incident and the trophy incident, Blaine doesn't talk to us anymore. Trent couldn't take that, approached Blaine again, and probably got caught in the not-so-true cheating affair. He just wanted to help Blaine, I guess, and wanted him back as very good friend…"

"… so he did the only thing he thought that would get their friendship back …" she added.

"… and betrayed the Warblers," Sebastian understood.

Their show choir group suddenly seemed even more screwed up than the New Directions.

"We're here," Nick said softly. They were standing in a dark alley, in front of a dusty café, the neon-lighted name not readable due broken and missing letters. Outside, a few guys were smoking, guarding the door. Sebastian and Nick sided next to Marie-Claire.

"Look, I didn't want to take you," Sebastian whispered in her ear. "But Hunter likes you. He _loves_ you, I don't know. Anyway, we need you to help us get him back." She nodded.

Claire understood what her brother was talking about. She could still remember that time when Trent – ironic it had been him – called her to fix things for the Warblers, talking to Sebastian. Maybe Trent had wanted her to bring the old Warblers back, she realized now. She hadn't done that. She had fixed her brother. He had been a mess, on the edge of a breakdown, realizing he had send two people in the hospital. They had visited Blaine and Karofsky then, though the two didn't know that, since they had been sleeping at the time. Sebastian then had told her he wanted to quit the Warblers and leave Dalton. She had been able to convince him otherwise. And now the same needed to be done with Hunter.

They could easily walk into the café. Inside, the air smelled like alcohol and smoke. It was the very opposite of Scandals – no gaybar, of course, but also no dancing people, just some guys sitting in small groups, talking to each other. The constant sound of a jukebox mixed with laughter and conversations. Though the bar had looked shady from the outside, it actually seemed quite nice.

"There he is," Nick said relieved. He glanced hesitantly at Sebastian. "I'm not sure if it's my place to be here, you know. He is my friend, but yeah … your best friend and Claire's…" He fell silent, looking expectantly at her.

She rolled her eyes. "My something. Dalton's gossip goes much faster than our relationship," she informed the boy. "Let's keep it at special friend and occasional date and my brothers best friend, that makes us close enough."

Sebastian nodded. "Can you wait for us in the car?" he asked Nick, his voice suddenly sounding very tired. His green eyes showed his discomfort. She couldn't blame him – she wasn't sure in what state Hunter was. Sebastian had been slightly drunk and a bit aggressive when she had tried to fix him. An aggressive, drunk Hunter was certainly not something she wanted to meet. Nick gave them a thumbs up, petted Sebastian on the shoulder and pulled her in a quick hug, smiled at her and whispering a short pep-talk in her ear.

"Hunt…?" Sebastian approached his friend carefully.

The shorter but more muscled guy winced. He didn't turn around. "Bas, what are you doing here?" he asked with a rough voice. His right hand clenched a bottle of beer, his other slid from the table on his leg, his fingers digging in his skin.

"Setting some things right," she answered for her brother, quickly glancing at him.

Hunter groaned and turned around slightly. "Who else did you bring to the pity party?" he questioned accusingly.

"That's my text." She studied him. On his skin were some droplets of sweat, his face pale and his eyes bloodshot. He looked even more exhausted than the days before, if that was possible, and his clothes were a crumbled mess, just as his hair. The composed gentleman was long gone. "A better question is, what are _you_ doing _here_?"

Hunter shrugged, raised the bottle. "Drinking my sorrow away," he answered poetically. His piercing eyes focused on her, seemed to read her very thoughts. "Dalton abandoned me. The Warblers abandoned me…"

"Don't you dare say that," Sebastian snapped. "We did far from abandon you." He smashed his fist on the table, attracting some attention. A barman came forward, but the Smythe didn't notice him, staring intensely at his best friend. "Some blackmail makes miracles, Hunt. The Warblers had your future in their hands and you know what we decided? To let you stay. Not only as Dalton boy, as Warbler, but I'm quite sure as captain too. I explained to them that you had a deal with the school counsel and their reaction? Once a Warbler, always a Warbler. We've decided to let the competition pass to keep you in the Warblers. We could just tell the authorities, but we didn't."

"Fuck!" Hunter shouted suddenly, standing up and trying to get away.

Sebastian and Marie-Claire grabbed him the same time. "Don't be stupid, Hunter," she said softly. "You want to stay with us, I know that. The Warblers forgave you and want you – you can't ask more than that, can you? Come home."

For the first time, the siblings saw Hunters mask crumble. The one of the control freak captain had broken down long before, but now his angry cover fell, too. His jaw relaxed, the flame in his eyes weakened. His body calmed down. Sebastian stepped forward, pulling his friend in a hug. Hunter leaned against his chest, his eyes falling shut, though he remained on his feet. Marie-Claire stepped forward, smiling. She put an arm around the boy and then, leaned forward, not daring to look at Sebastian, instead focusing on Hunter's peaceful expression. Her lips briefly touched his, planting a soft kiss on his warm mouth before pulling back.

"Come home."


	13. Diva

Hi guys (girls, whatever). It's a long time ago, I know, I know. I'm really sorry, but I just didn't know what to do. I had two choices for where to go with this story. Decision is finally made. Some will be happy, others won't. Thanks for reviewing **EllenMai**, **Damselindestress98, JoeyKangarooGirl **and especially **punkfreak561 **and a **guest**, who both encouraged me to go writing again!

One thing I can promise you, by the way. It might take a while, but I _will_ finish this story. Every episode will be a chapter. You can do the maths.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

**Song(s) used: **'Bulletproof' - My Chemical Romance

* * *

**Diva**

_"I think you need to be somewhere that's as big and as hot as you are. It's okay to follow your dreams."_

* * *

Marie-Claire wrapped her fingers around the cold cup. Her coffee would probably taste horrible after a whole hour without even sipping, but she didn't have the energy to move. Her legs were curled up under her body. She had managed to find an empty seat in the Lima Bean, which was filled with people.

If only no one from the New Directions came in. Or the Warblers – but they hardly ever went far from Dalton since the new Starbucks was opened. And since the steroids 'scandal'. But she didn't like to think about that. The students from McKinley reminded her enough about it.

_"Claire, please wait!" Blaine exclaimed._

_Marie-Claire smashed her locked shut, not looking at the boy. Maybe it was childish, but she really needed to ignore him, because if she said even a word, it would probably be intended to demolish him. She slung her backpack on her shoulder._

_"Why are you avoiding me?" he questioned for the thousandth time._

_Not again. She turned around, finally giving up. "Isn't it fucking obvious?" Blaine winced. "You brought down my family, asshole. And I'm not about to forgive that so easily." She was trying to be nice. She really was. She could have commented on his failing relationship with Kurt, on his hopeless crush on Sam, on his corrupt friendship with Tina, on his horrible leadership._

_She didn't. She had grown to be a bit nicer person – copying Sebastian's new leaf philosophy._

_"I didn't…"_

_"Oh don't tell me you didn't know," she snapped._

_Blaine smashed his hand against the wall. "They cheated!" he cried out._

_Marie-Claire stepped forward, coming face to face with Blaine. "We. We. Didn't. Cheat. It's not what you think, Anderson. It's so damn more complicated that I'm not going to even try to explain. It's not your fucking business anyway. You left the Warbler, betrayed them. You aren't part of the family anymore, no matter how much they wanted you to. So don't expect us to let you join in on this," she spoke, her words cold, her attitude calm. She was perfectly in control._

_Blaine just turned white. He didn't ask._

_She wondered if she had wanted that._

Her coffee rudely interrupted her thoughts. Without really thinking, she had taken a small sip of the cold liquid. Her eyebrows furrowed and she immediately put the cup down on the table next to her. The couch was quite comfortable, she had occupied a corner, people sitting everywhere. With every time the door opened, she looked up, afraid that it would be someone she knew. Or, even worse, someone who only was interested in the steroids scandal.

Then again, no one would recognize her. She was part of the family, but not part of the actually performing group most knew. She closed her eyes. David had done his work properly. The scandal had kept a low profile due to his effort, but there was still talked about it. The student body was split into two parts – one half supported them, the other fought against them. The Warblers reputation had grown controversial.

_"Meatbox, leave it," Nick ordered softly, putting a hand on the other boy's arm._

_Meatbox looked back, nodding quietly, stepping back. He breathed in deeply, trying to keep calm, something that he usually did easily. It was different lately, though. All the Warblers were stressed. Even David, Nick, and Jeff, who tried to keep everyone together, walked around with bags under their eyes and pale skin. Hunter hardly ever left his room – Dalton had forbidden him from showing up for classes for a whole month. He needed to do his schoolwork in his room._

_"Come on, we're leaving," Jeff said sadly, shaking his head. Some of the guys from the lacrosse team had been bothering Flint and Meatbox – the former had already fled the scene, while the latter had wanted to confront the sport team._

_They walked through the hall, trying to ignore the comments shouted after them. Jeff had to grab Marie-Claire's shoulder and push her forward a bit. She'd rather turn around and insult them in Smythe style. "Where's Sebastian?" Nick asked her, fitting to her thoughts._

_She shrugged. "I don't know." Of course she knew. Her brother and she had made it their duty to take care of Hunter. He was with their captain – former captain? – in his room._

_"No offense, MC, but our captains are hardly ever around," Nick said annoyed._

_"Especially when we need them," Jeff added darkly._

_Meatbox and she shared a concerned look._

_When Niff started talking like that, they were in deep shit._

Even when she was exhausted like this, she couldn't fall asleep. McKinley was tiring her out – not the classes, which were easy, or the homework, which she never had, but avoiding her fellow Glee club members. And at Dalton, she left the constant pressure to stay strong for the Warblers, not let them down when her brother and her … what? date? … weren't there. There was the stress of the civil war that was occurring in the hallway.

Coffee wouldn't help to make her get rest, of course. But she didn't want to go to either school. She just wanted some time alone. Without Glee clubs, students who looked up at or down to her, teacher who had their expectations. The constant stare of the headmaster on her. The stalkers she had gained due not showing up to rehearsals.

_"Where were you yesterday?" Tina appeared behind her._

_"It was Glee practice," Artie – what was Artie doing there? – added needlessly._

_Marie-Claire groaned, rubbing her temples. "There was a reason why I was sitting down at the loser table," she explained, making a gesture towards the bunch of outcasts right to her. She took a bite of her apple, looking straight ahead._

_Tina sat down in front of her, though. Marie-Claire raised her eyebrows and was about to say something when the Asian girl started to speak again. "I don't know why you're protecting those cheating losers, but that doesn't matter. Just know that we can kick you off the New Directions any time we want. Everyone knows I can take your solos."_

_Marie-Claire huffed amused. "I don't have any solos. Always the same people get those and let me break the news to you, Cohen-Chang, we don't belong to that group. Neither does Wheelchair over there, or Jesus boy or that spoilt child. Don't imagine you have any significance to the group apart from standing in the background and lip-syncing a bit."_

_Tina looked downright furious. "Sorry? You –"_

_"No I'm not sorry, yes I dare," she said tiredly. "Can you just get your Asian ass out of here? And Wheels, too, _please_." Artie started to move, Tina, too. Marley and Jake passed by, looking hesitant. The brown haired girl glanced at her. "Marley," Marie-Claire said quietly. The sophomore was beside her instantly. Marie-Claire knew the girl hadn't forgotten her strange support in their first days at McKinley. "Tell them that I'll be back in about two weeks or something. I know the club can't live without my bitchy comments, but you'll have to deal."_

_It bothered her that Marley just nodded and Jake walked after her like a puppy._

Maybe Marie-Claire should get a new coffee. Or maybe not. The queue was far too long. There was a switch in the employees going on, too, which meant it would only take longer. She sighed. No hot drink for her anytime soon. Her iPhone kept buzzing. Probably texts from the boys – when they needed to get her, where. She didn't care.

She managed to get the mobile out of the pocket of her jacket and put it on the table, next to her cup. The constant smell of coffee beans was addicting. She had opened her eyes and had wrapped her arms around her legs, quietly studying the students in the café. It was around five, the Warblers were probably worried. She sighed. Nothing to do about it.

_"Hunter? Can I come in?" Marie-Claire called out._

_No answer, of course. He made a point of not answering to make her go away. Something that was needless, since it didn't work. Sebastian and she entered the room whenever they wanted to. They just tried to make it seem like they were giving their friend a choice. He hadn't._

_"Go away, Claire," Hunter croaked out._

_That was promising. Usually he called her Marie-Claire. She walked in, watching her friend lying on the bed. He didn't even look up. Their relationship had grown even stranger. No teasing, no kissing, no cuddling, no dating. Just a bit of comforting and bringing food from her side. They were more friends now. Especially since Marie-Claire realized she hardly knew Hunter at all._

"Hello there?"

_"Just leave me the fuck alone, Blaine," Marie-Claire gritted tiredly._

_Her kind of but not quite friend actually looked worried. "I'm sorry. I really, really, am."_

_"Yeah. I know about you being sorry," she spat._

_He looked hurt. He had the right to._

_She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Blaine. I'm just tired." Apologizing. That was still new to her._

_"Claire?" She looked up. "You can come to me, you know." She nodded absentmindedly. She knew that she wouldn't do that. But she appreciated the offer. She guessed. "MC?" She rolled her eyes, staring at Blaine. "Why do you call the Warblers your family? What would you call us?"_

_She sighed. Why would she answer this? The truth hurt. "The Warblers are my brothers. You are my friends, Blaine. And that's already quite a lot for me."_

"Are you alive?"

_"Sebastian, we need to fix this. The Warblers are falling apart," she complained._

_Her brother was reading on his bed. "I know."_

_"So what are we going to do?"_

_He put his book down. "I don't know."_

"Hey, you."

_"Leave me alone."_

_"Hi to you, too, Claire."_

_"Not now, San."_

_"I heard about your blazer bitches."_

_"Nice."_

_"Cheer up. Cheating is very much like your band of bastards."_

_"At least you're honest."_

_"You're not yourself, MC."_

_"I'm tired."_

_"Yeah. Well, you need to spice some things up."_

_"You mean…?"_

_"Yeah. This girl is going to drag your lesbian ass to a gay bar."_

_"About that…"_

_"We'll talk about your pedo-date phase."_

"Wake up, sleepy head. I brought you coffee."

Someone snapped fingers in front of her. Marie-Claire looked up, right in the blue eyes of a very familiar girl. She frowned. "You're a barista, aren't you?" she questioned confused, taken off-guard.

"True. And you're a very tired regular customer who needs some caffeine," the blonde said, winking at her. She offered Claire a damping cup of coffee. "A skinny white café mocha. Without cream. Size medium."

She recognized the girl. This was the barista who usually remembered her coffee order. "Thanks, I guess?" she smiled, accepting the coffee with both her hands. It was still hot, but she took a sip immediately.

"Welcome," the girl smiled, letting her British accent sound. "You looked like you needed it. It's on me." She offered an empty hand, now, with her free hand stroking the hair out of her face. "I'm Haley Crawford."

Slightly impressed, Marie-Claire shook the girl's hand. "Marie-Claire Smythe. Do you remember everyone's coffee order, or is it just me?"

"Just you," the girl winked, but then laughed. "No, I tend to remember the orders from all the regular customers." Another cup appeared in her hand, from which she sipped with closed eyes, enjoying the taste. "You don't have your explosive friend around?" she asked.

Marie-Claire knew she was talking about the Splenda situation. Damn, they were fucked up. Slushie incident, blackmail period, Splenda situation, steroids scandal. She sighed, pulling a hand through her short, brown hair. "Nope, he's probably not going to bother you anytime soon."

The girl – Haley, she reminded herself – nodded in understanding. Claire wondered if she knew more about the Warblers. Something in those eyes let her know it was the case. "Too bad. He threw some excitement in this boredom," the blonde chuckled, gesturing around her. "Did you get my coffee back then, anyways? I gave it to that blond, cheery guy when you ran after the time bomb guy. After he had a rage riot because of Splenda."

Marie-Claire frowned, thinking back to that day. It took her a while to remember that, yes, Jeff _had_ showed up with hot coffee she hadn't yet paid for. "I did," she answered, still surprised. "You're making a habit out of giving me free drinks?"

Haley shrugged, throwing her empty cup away. She didn't answer the question, instead staring at Marie-Claire without explaining herself. The Smythe felt slightly uncomfortable, even intimidated, when the eyes scanned her body. She wondered what the girl was looking for. If she found it. Suddenly, her presence was unnerving.

"I've got to go," she said quickly, standing up. "Thanks for the coffee."

Haley didn't seem fazed. "Sure, no problem. I'll see you next time."

Marie-Claire rushed out, only outside in the cold air realizing there was an honest smile on her face that hadn't been there for a long time.

* * *

When Marie-Claire finally found herself capable of putting up with the New Directions – which meant she forced herself to sit with them at rehearsals only, next to Ryder, who didn't bother her anyway – Diva week had been announced. Not the best time to jump into the crazy maze what was called a Glee club.

She had dealt already dealt with superheroes and apparently she had been lucky enough to miss the week in which a nude calendar was made – she was immensely glad she didn't have to be a part of that. She wondered who's horrible idea it was, but then again, she actually didn't want to know.

Now, it was time for the arrogant bitches in the group to stand up. Tina and Unique were of course best suited for this role, but Brittany joined in soon and even Blaine and Marley – two people she hadn't been expecting. Then again, the curly haired hobbit had been extraordinary in showing off his rainbows. He had his gay moments.

"Claire! Wait!" a voice called after her.

She indeed stopped walking through the hallway, looking over her shoulder at no one else than Blaine. There was a huge part of her that just wanted to walk on, seemingly not noticing him. But she knew better than that. So, she turned around and faced the short boy, trying a smile.

"You told me not to smile when I'm not happy. Maybe you should do the same," he said.

She frowned. While she might have been pushing Blaine away a little, he surely still was capable of looking through her. Not entirely, but he came close. She sighed, her fingers playing around with the cords on her sweater. "What is it?" she asked, sounding annoyed.

"Why are you this stressed?"

She snorted. "Because the Warblers have been accused of cheating?" She ignored his guilty look. "Because I'm the one who's trying to keep them together, but it's a pretty damn hard job when their reputation has been ruined."

"Why don't you tell the truth? You said you didn't cheat. Why don't you tell that?" Blaine asked confused, walking next to her towards the exit of the school. She noticed his nose was a little red and his eyes also.

"It's way too complicated," she said quietly, knowing she shouldn't talk about this. She just so desperately wanted Blaine to know that the Warblers weren't all that bad. They just made some wrong choices. "Trent was jealous, Hunter had indeed done a wrong thing. So the steroids story came up, together with Sam's and your help." She didn't ever try to keep the accusing tone out of her voice. "And we take the fall for each other. This way, it's better for Hunter."

Blaine nodded, though he still looked as if he didn't understand it. He probably didn't. "And what's going on between you and Hunter?" he wanted to know, his own voice a bit hoarse.

Marie-Claire rolled her eyes, though she was impressed Blaine noticed anything. "Nothing, at the moment," she cut the subject off.

Blaine actually understood, changing their conversation. "What are you going to sing?"

Marie-Claire bit her lip. "Nothing, I guess. I'm not the diva type. You?"

"You need to sing more often," Blaine argued weakly, but he answered her question anyway. "I'm not sure yet. I want to show that guys can be diva's, too."

She grinned. "Thought about Queen? Freddy Mercury?" she asked.

Blaine's eyes lighted up. "Don't Stop Me Now!" he shouted out, then wincing.

Marie-Claire actually had to laugh. "I'll organize a choir. You just focus on piano and singing."

"You're awesome, Claire."

"I know. Now get to your house and have a good night rest, killer. You look like you're about to catch the flu," she advised.

If only their problems at Dalton were that easy to fix.

* * *

The arrival of Santana Lopez was – even after she announced her visit to Marie-Claire – surprising and mind-blowing. Also, the Smythe had never been so relieved. While she had made some friends at McKinley, she just needed someone from outside. And even though Santana had attended the school, she was graduated and had party cut her ties with the Glee club.

Or so she thought.

Brittany was peeking around the corner, too, she noticed. The sing-off between Sam and Santana was impressive, and though Marie-Claire had to cheer the lesbian on, Sam surprised her. She didn't hear him sing that often. The blond cheerleader left the auditorium quickly after the song ended, while Marie-Claire made the decision to approach Santana.

"Hi there," she smiled, noticing that the Latina took the Bram couple badly. "What about a drink?" she proposed, turning around and walking alongside Santana through the hallway.

The black haired girl looked at her. "Instead of a gay bar?" she asked.

Marie-Claire shrugged. "You're still broken-up about Brittany, so much even that you have to pay someone to be your fake girlfriend. Seriously, San, there are loads of girls who wouldn't have to be paid to kiss you."

The Latina smirked. "My wonderful lips are hard to resist, I know. But I needed a single girl from the cheerleader squad, preferably a hot one, so Elaine had to do."

"Do you have a car?" Marie-Claire just asked.

"Stole my mother's."

"Lima Bean?"

"Lima Bean."

The blond barista – Haley – wasn't there, luckily. Marie-Claire sighed in relief. There was a part of her that wanted to see the girl, but not now. She wanted to focus on the Latina in front of her, who had enough to deal with already. "You dropped out of college?" she asked for the tenth time, shaking his head in disbelief.

Santana shrugged. "I'm a diva, too, MC. I know I'm way better than those dumb cheerleaders and the world can lie at my feet if I wanted it too. I only stayed there because of Brittany, so we would be close."

"And now your relationship is over, you're leaving," she nodded, understanding that Santana knew Brittany would stay with Sam. It was complicated, but Santana had accepted – or, at least, acknowledged that Bram would stay together for the time being. "I think it's the best choice, San. You can't let her decide your life and that was what she had been doing."

"But where to go now?" Santana sighed, drinking her coffee.

Marie-Claire stared in her brown eyes. "Only you know," she said lightly. "But maybe…" The other lesbian looked expectantly at her. "Ask coach Sylvester," Marie-Claire advised. "She has known you for four years, I suppose she must have some idea where to send you. My guess would be New York. I know you have always wanted to go there."

"To end up in a homeless center fighting over a bone? I'd rather not. I'm not the hobbit or Lady Face. They use either their horrible, arrogant personality or the I'm-gay-so-you-can't-reject-me excuse to get in NYADA. I'm not sinking that low."

"You have yourself."

"Lesbian, hot, diva, talented. This might work," Santana grinned. "So, how's life with you?"

And Marie-Claire suddenly found herself not able to talk about the Warblers. She had just realized that Santana was still glued to the New Directions. She hadn't actually left them yet, with her guest performances and her role in the musical. The Latina wasn't an independent spectator. She would coach the McKinley Glee club to Nationals, if she had to. The Warblers were still her enemies. She sighed. "Crap. But there's nothing to do about it than just wait."

Santana nodded. "You know what? I'm going to coach Sylvester. It's a good idea. She'll probably bash my life a bit and then give some ridiculous comment on what I should do and then I can figure out something for myself which will always sound better."

Marie-Claire smiled. "Good. Drop me off at Blaine's, will you? I want to check on him."

* * *

The scene she found at Blaine's was … unnerving, to say the least. "Tina Cohen-Chang, I don't know exactly what the fuck you're doing, but you'd better stop it right now," Marie-Claire spat, stepping into the room – some idiot, probably Asian, had left the front door open so she'd just been able to enter the house – and pulling the kind of gel from Tina's hands. Only then she noticed Blaine was asleep. "The fuck? What were you doing? Raping him?"

A tearstained face was turned to her. "I wasn't raping him! I'm not like your brother who wants to do that or like that other captain bastard who steals things in order to _kidnap _Blainey. He's my friend, I-"

Marie-Claire breathed in deeply, clenching her hands to fists. "If you value your life, you better shut your mouth right now. I'm not even going to waste my time on telling you off. Just get the fuck out of here before I tell your crush here what you were doing. And saying."

Tina turned pale and was out of the door in no time.

Sadly, Blaine woke up. "What's happening?" he muttered weakly.

"Did she give you drugs or something?" Marie-Claire sighed, actually concerned even though she knew that Tina would do such a thing. Right? "Get up, killer. You need to take a shower and then get some rest. I'll make you some soup."

Getting the boy to clean himself and go back to bed again, was one of the hardest tasks she'd ever had. Eventually, she was feeding him hot soup, sitting next to him on the bed. "You're a hopeless child," she complained, having been talking like this the whole time. "Do you always act like this when you're sick? Even I'm less bad."

"Where's Tina…?" Blaine just mumbled.

She gritted her teeth. "Don't even talk about that fucking bitch." It wasn't just what she had been doing with Blaine – yes, the Asian had been acting like a stalker and probably had corrupted the situation to touch Blaine, which was creepy in itself. But the worst thing was that she insulted her brother and Hunter, and no one would get away with that.

"I should apologize to her. I fell asleep while -"

"Oh _please_ Blaine, for once drop the gentleman act. She's a bitch. Don't apologize."

The boy was already asleep.

* * *

Cohen-Chang won the diva award. Marie-Claire didn't really have a problem with it, especially not when Brittany shouted than the Asian never won anything. She eventually stood up, though, walking to the front. "I'd like to do a song," she announced, a demanding tone in her voice that blew away any protests.

Hudson seemed very happy that she finally was going to perform. Pillsbury, too. Blaine gave her a thumbs up, while the rest of the Glee club members just looked plainly confused. The last time she performed in front of them was when Mr Schuester personally had asked her and she sang a small song to Brittany. This time, it would be different. The Asian girl already seemed pissed off by the Smythe interrupted – exactly what she wanted.

"I told you the song," she said to the band, the blond haired boy giving her an enthusiastic nod. He had told her he liked the band, too, so he had been happy to play the song for her. Luckily, since she had only told them this morning she wanted to sing. "Hit it, boys."

_Gravity  
Don't mean too much to me  
I'm who I've got to be  
These pigs are after me, after you  
Run away, like it was yesterday  
And we could run away, if we could run away  
Run away from here_

_I got a bulletproof heart_  
_You got a hollow-point smile_  
_Me and your runaway scars_  
_Got a photograph dream on the getaway mile_

_Let's blow a hole in this town_  
_And do our talking with a laser beam_  
_Gunning out of this place in a bullet's embrace_  
_Then we'll do it again_

_How can they say?_  
_"Jenny could you come back home?"_  
_Cause everybody knows you don't_  
_Ever wanna come back_  
_Let me be the one to save you_

_Gravity_  
_Don't mean too much to me_  
_I'm who I've got to be_  
_These pigs are after me, after you_  
_Run away, like it was yesterday_  
_When we could run away, when we could run away_  
_Run away from here_

_I'm shooting out of this room_  
_Because I sure don't like the company_  
_Stop your preaching right there_  
_Cause I really don't care_  
_And I'll do it again_

_So get me out of my head_  
_Cause it's getting kind of cramped you know_  
_Coming ready or not_  
_When the motor gets hot_  
_We can do it again_

_The papers say_  
_"Johnny won't you come back home?"_  
_Cause everybody knows you don't_  
_Want to give yourself up then tell the truth_  
_And God will save you_

_Gravity_  
_Don't mean too much to me_  
_I'm who I've got to be_  
_These pigs are after me, after you_  
_Run away, like it was yesterday_  
_And we could run away, if we could run away_  
_Run away from here_

She grinned. Her voice went from high to low, from soft to loud. There was a raw edge to it, suiting the song perfectly. The New Directions were starting to join. Blaine and Marley backed her up, Jake, Ryder, Kitty and Brittany starting dancing on the music. Tina was sitting silently, giving her a death glare, her arms crossing.

_And though I know how much you hate this_  
_Are you gonna be the one to save us_  
_From the black and hopeless feeling?_  
_Will you mean it when the end comes reeling?_

_Hold your heart into this darkness_  
_Will it ever be the light to shine you out_  
_Or fail and leave you stranded?_  
_I ain't gonna be the one left standing_  
_You ain't gonna be the one left standing_  
_We ain't gonna be the ones left standing_

_Gravity_  
_Don't mean too much to me_  
_Is this our destiny?_  
_This world is after me, after you_  
_Run away, like it was yesterday_  
_And we could run away,_  
_Run away, run away_  
_Run away from here_

_Yeah_  
_Away from here_  
_Away from here_

The applause was great. Cohen-Chang's face even more. Heavily breathing, she was standing between her fellow Glee club members, them all having sang and jumped along. "That's how you do it," she said contently.

* * *

_I'm going to New York. - Santana_

_Why so? - MC_

_Britt convinced me. - Santana_

"Are you just particularly down these days or is that your permanent expression?"

Marie-Claire looked up, staring right into the blue eyes of Haley. The blonde sat down next to her, handing her the hot cup of coffee she had just ordered – and paid for herself, this time. "Actually, I just had a pretty good victory," she told the barista, having expected the girl to show up, this time. They'd had some brief conversations over the counter, but now they were sitting next to each other.

"Do tell," Haley said amused. "And why winning puts a frown on your face."

She smiled slightly. This girl was like her. Blunt, no turning around subjects, just asking. "I told you about the Asian bitch, right?" The blond girl nodded – Claire had mentioned Tina while she had been making her coffee. "So I blew her away with a song from My Chemical Romance. That was all."

"Are you a fan?" Haley wanted to know.

She shrugged. "I like their Killjoys album."

"And the frown?" the blonde asked.

Marie-Claire remained silent for a while, weighing her chances. The person she had asked for was sitting right next to her. She had wanted to talk to someone outside of the schools? There she was. And she actually asked about it. She breathed in. "It's a long story. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to tell it."

Haley grinned. "We've got hours."

"It all starts with some schoolboys in blazers…"

They used all the hours.


End file.
